After collecting an entirely needless red card against Benfica in the Champions League, João Pedro will serve his suspension for Chelsea in the competition, ensuring he remains available for this weekend’s Premier League visit from Liverpool.
It wasn’t merely Chelsea’s 1–0 victory over José Mourinho’s visitors that had Enzo Maresca on the brink of celebrating on Tuesday night, but the fact that his side were about to finish the game with 11 players.
In the Blues’ previous two Premier League outings, against Manchester United and Brentford, Robert Sánchez and Trevoh Chalobah’s respective dismissals contributed to Maresca’s side collecting zero points from a possible six.
Sánchez’s scything down of Bryan Mbeumo meant Chelsea were a player down after five minutes at Old Trafford, falling 2–0 behind before Casemiro’s second booking evened up the personnel. Then, at the weekend, Chalobah’s red evolved a 1–0 lead into a 3–1 defeat.
The Blues were almost there on Tuesday night. One of the players on a booking, Facundo Buonanotte, was out of harm’s way, and a drab Champions League contest, highlighted by José Mourinho’s Stamford Bridge return, was nearing its end.
But then Pedro stuck his boot towards the face of Leandro Barreiro in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The absence of contact meant a booking sufficed, but the Brazilian had been carded within a minute of his second-half introduction. Cue red card No. 3 for Chelsea in four games.
What Chelsea Games Will João Pedro Miss After Red Card?
In the case of serious circumstances, suspensions can move across the Premier League and Champions League, but as Pedro was sent off for receiving two yellow cards, the Brazilian will only be banned for Chelsea’s next European fixture.
The versatile forward, who enjoyed an excellent start to his career at Stamford Bridge but has slowed down after the September international break, will thus be available for Saturday’s league game against the out-of-sorts champions, with Liverpool travelling down to west London.
Pedro, however, is suspended for Chelsea’s league phase encounter against Ajax on Oct. 22. He’ll be back in Champions League action, barring an injury, in Gameweek 4 as Maresca’s squad travel to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag on Bonfire Night.
Chelsea are also unable to appeal Pedro’s suspension due to the fact that he received two yellow cards. It was the third sending off of his career.
“A good thing is we are improving and we can win with 10 players,” Maresca joked postmatch, as the Blues held on without any fuss in the dying embers to secure the first victory of their league phase campaign, having been beaten 3–1 by Bayern Munich in Gameweek 1.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Joao Pedro Is Allowed to Face Liverpool After Chelsea Red Card.
