Enzo Maresca has admitted Chelsea’s discipline problems are becoming “embarrassing” after Liam Delap was sent off during the Blues’ 4-3 win over Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
Delap, 25 minutes into his first game back after two months out with a hamstring injury, picked up two yellow cards in the space of seven minutes as Chelsea were reduced to 10 men late on at Molineux, with Wolves pressing for an equaliser.
Chelsea hung on to seal their place in the quarter-finals, but Maresca labelled Delap’s dismissal, their sixth red card of the season, as a “stupid foul” and said the Chelsea forward fully deserved to be sent off.
“Absolutely, yes [Delap deserved to be sent off]. Stupid foul, we can avoid that,” Maresca said at full-time.
“I completely support and understand when there is a red card like Brighton or Man[chester] United that is difficult. But a red card against Nottingham [Forest] and a red card today, both we can avoid that. And we have to avoid that.”
“It's embarrassing when it's a red card like today. Like today it's embarrassing because it's two yellow cards in five minutes, ten minutes, I don’t know seven minutes. Both [fouls], we can avoid that.”
Delap, who will now miss Chelsea’s trip to Tottenham on Saturday, was cautioned in the 79th minute for a pull on the shirt of Yerson Mosquera, before being awarded a second yellow seven minutes later for an elbow on Emmanuel Agbadou.
Maresca said he had warned Delap numerous times after his first yellow to calm down, but the 22-year-old, who the Chelsea head coach admitted has a tendency to play for himself, didn’t listen, with his dismissal setting up a nervy finish for the Blues.
“After the yellow card, I told him four or five times to keep calm. But Liam is a player that when he's on the pitch, he probably is a little bit playing the game for himself, and he struggles to realise and to listen around him.”
