Maresca blasts Delap for ‘stupid’ red card – ‘He plays for himself and struggles to listen’ | OneFootball

Chelsea edged past Wolverhampton Wanderers by the skin of their teeth to advance to the quarter-final of the League Cup last night.

The Blues should have been home and dry after leading by 3-0 at half-time, but were guilty of allowing the home side back into the game.

Apart from the blunders from Facundo Buonanotte and Filip Jorgensen, striker Liam Delap picked up a needless second yellow card that could easily have been a direct red card.

On his first appearance since his hamstring injury that sidelined him for almost two months, he got into two needless scuffles and left the Blues hanging by a thread.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was rightly incensed by the red card. The Blues have received too many this season, carrying on their disciplinary issues from last term.

Malo Gusto, Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah, Joao Pedro and Maresca have been sent off this term.

Maresca said (via the BBC), “The three goals we conceded, I think all of them we can avoid. For sure, today we also had a very stupid red card that was completely unnecessary.

“After the first yellow card, I told him (Delap) four or five times to keep calm.

“But Liam is a player who, when he’s on the pitch, is probably playing the game for himself and struggles to realise and listen to those around him.”

Maresca must curb Chelsea’s growing penchant for red cards before it derails their season. 

It has already cost the Blues valuable points in the league and nearly proved disastrous against Wolves. 

The Italian previously brushed off concerns about discipline, insisting it wasn’t a pattern, but that stance is becoming harder to justify. 

A team capable of playing with such flair cannot keep sabotaging themselves through needless dismissals.