Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca called Liam Delap’s red card “very stupid” after it overshadowed the Blues’ dramatic 4-3 Carabao Cup win over Wolves.
Delap, making his comeback after a 10-week hamstring injury, was sent off just 26 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.
According to BBC Sports on Thursday, the 22-year-old picked up two yellow cards in rapid succession, first for pushing Yerson Mosquera and then for barging into Emmanuel Agbadou. He will now miss Saturday’s London derby against Tottenham, with João Pedro already a fitness risk.
When questioned if Delap deserved to be sent off, Maresca replied, “Absolutely, yeah. Stupid foul. “We can avoid that.”
The dismissal occurred as part of a larger Chelsea breakdown.
They led 3-0 at halftime, but Wolves struck three times in the second half, with Jamie Gittens’ dramatic late strike enough to send the Blues into the quarter-finals against Cardiff City.
Maresca added, “The three goals we conceded, I think we can avoid all of them. Certainly, we also received a very unnecessary red card today.
“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 realize and listen to those around him.”
It was Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine games, following Maresca’s punishment for celebrating a last-minute goal against Liverpool before the international break.
The Italian was asked to clarify whether he had broader worries about indiscipline, given that Chelsea had gotten the most yellow cards in the Premier League over the previous three seasons.
He continued, “I completely understand when there are red cards like against Brighton [Trevoh Chalobah red] or Manchester United [Robert Sanchez red]; that’s difficult, but the red cards against Nottingham Forest and today, we both can and have to avoid.
“It’s embarrassing when it’s a red card like today because it’s two yellow cards in five or 10 minutes. Both, I think, we can avoid. So it’s not good.”
