Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca fumes over ‘stupid, embarrassing’ Liam Delap red card
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LONDON – Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca blasted Liam Delap for a “stupid” and “embarrassing” red card in the 4-3 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup fourth round on Oct 29.
Delap was dismissed after earning two yellow cards in the space of just seven minutes after coming on as a substitute for his first appearance since August.
The first booking was for wrestling Yerson Mosquera to the ground and his second came after a reckless aerial challenge on Emmanuel Agbadou.
It was Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine games this season and Maresca was furious with his striker, who will now miss the vital London derby at Tottenham Hotspur on Nov 1 after only just returning from a lengthy hamstring injury absence.
“For today, we have a very a stupid red card that was completely unnecessary – absolute it was a stupid foul, we can avoid that,” Maresca said.
“I completely support and understand the red card like against Brighton (& Hove Albion) and Manchester United that is difficult, but the red card against Nottingham (Forest) and a red card today we can avoid that and we have to avoid that.
“It’s embarrassing when it is a red card like today. It’s embarrassing, two yellow cards in seven minutes.
“Both I think we can avoid.
“After the first yellow card I told him four or five times to keep calm, but he’s a player when he is inside the pitch, probably he is playing the game for himself and he struggled to realise and to listen around him.”
Maresca had earlier said he did not intend to “punish” players for picking up red cards.
“I have four kids. When they do something wrong, I do not punish them. I try to teach them to do the right things. I try to do this with the players too,” the manager said last week.
Delap’s dismissal took the shine off Chelsea’s dramatic progress to the quarter-finals, where they will visit third-tier Cardiff City.
Goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Estevao Willian gave Chelsea a 3-0 half-time lead against the English Premier League’s bottom club.
Tolu Arokodare and David Wolfe reduced the deficit, before Jamie Gittens’ late strike seemed to have ensured Chelsea’s victory.
Wolfe scored his second in added time as Wolves kept on pushing, but Chelsea held on despite Delap’s red card. AFP, REUTERS
