Maresca blames his English for criticism of player who doesn’t listen and “needs to improve” | OneFootball

Wednesday night’s game against Wolves in the EFL Cup was supposed to be a glorious return for Liam Delap after two months out injured.

But after coming off the bench in the second half, the striker picked up two yellow cards in 7 minutes to become Chelsea’s latest player to be dismissed.

Enzo Maresca winds back criticism of Delap

Liam Delap laments his red card. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Speaking after the game, Enzo Maresca’s thought ended up straying into quite general criticism of Delap, at least it felt like it. The manager said that he had told his striker several times to stay calm, but hadn’t been heeded.

“After the yellow card I told him four or five times to keep calm. But Liam is a player that when he’s inside the pitch probably he’ll be playing the game for himself and he struggles to realise and to listen around him,” Maresca said on the night.

In the press conference today, the coach was asked about his criticism, and tried to wind it back a little:

“Probably because I’m not from England so sometimes when I try to translate from Italian to English sometimes it’s a bit different,” the manager wriggled.

“Liam when he’s inside the pitch is more focused to do his battle against the central defender than the rest. This was what I was telling, what I was trying to say after that game.

“I know Liam [from Manchester City’s youth team] and I know that Liam will be a fantastic player for us but there are some things like the rest that he needs to improve.”

In other news…

Earlier in the presser, Maresca had spoken a little about the red card Delap picked up and how he had been forced to speak to the whole team about their disciplinary issues.

The Chelsea manager also gave a really interesting answer on the role that Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo could play in tomorrow’s game.