'Dangerous' - Enzo Maresca sends message to Joao Pedro after red card vs Benfica | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has had his say on his team's red card problems after Joao Pedro's dismissal in Tuesday's win over Benfica.

Joao Pedro is the third Chelsea player to be shown a red card in the last four games.

First, it was Robert Sanchez against Manchester United, and then Trevoh Chalobah against Brighton.

Fortunately, this time, it was towards the end of the game, and Chelsea still managed to secure the win, unlike in the previous two occasions, in which the red cards changed the game and resulted in two defeats.

Interestingly, Maresca refused to blame the individuals as he came to their defence.

IMAGO / Sportimage

"Sanchez (red card was) not for a bad action, it's just because he (wanted) to defend the goal," the Italian told reporters when asked about the red card issues after the Benfica win.

"Chalobah (was) because he (wanted) to defend the goal.

"And tonight I think the second yellow card, Joao didn't even touch the other player, but the dynamic of the action is a dangerous one."

Maresca added that the players just need to make better decisions and avoid leaving the team a man down early, despite the risk of conceding a goal.

"Sometimes it's better to concede the goal or the chance because then it's 11v11, you (had) 40 more minutes (against Brighton).

"So for me personally, there is not any problem behind (it)."

IMAGO / Martin Dalton

The DOGSO (denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity) rule means the players, especially defenders, must be extra cautious when making last-ditch tackles.

For Chelsea, who play a quite high defensive line, these situations are sometimes inevitable.

It is a different story for Joao Pedro, however, whose second yellow card was a result of his eagerness to win the ball.

The striker only needs to be more aware when he is already on a yellow card and avoid giving referees a reason to send him off.