After what was a hard-fought win as far as Chelsea are concerned at home to Brentford, things refused to simmer down immediately after the final whistle.
Marc Cucurella, who had opened the scoring with his first Premier League goal for the Blues, was involved in an altercation with a number of opposing players after the game.
The scuffle saw the Spaniard sent off for a second yellow card offence, with him only picking up his first booking in the 95th minute of the game.
Enzo Maresca, Manager of Chelsea, speaks to Referee during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Brentford FC at Stamford Bridge on Decem...
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Enzo Maresca says referee sent Marc Cucurella off for ‘bad attitude’
While Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho were keen to avoid any conflict, a number of Blues were forced to separate the left-back from proceedings to avoid any further punishment.
What should have been a celebration of the Blues cutting the gap between them and Liverpool to just two points at the top of the table, instead Enzo Maresca was forced to begin plans for finding a replacement in his squad for Cucurella for the next game.
The manager was asked after the game what he knew about the incident which saw the sending off, with the Italian sharing what referee Peter Banks said to him in response.
He said to Football London: “I asked the referee and he said to me that the second yellow card was for bad attitude.
“When the final whistle [was blown], I was with coaching staff, hugging them and celebrating so I did not see nothing. I don’t know.”
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Who will replace Marc Cucurella for Chelsea?
Cucurella will now be absent for one Premier League game as a result of the red card, meaning he will not be available for the trip to Everton next weekend.
It is likely that he is replaced in the starting side by Renato Veiga, who has seen most of his appearances come in the cup competitions so far this season.
However, this is no reflection of how impressive the youngster has been since making the move to Stamford Bridge.
If he starts, it will be the biggest moment so far of the Portugal international’s Chelsea career.
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