Chelsea’s recent rash of red cards – 5 of them including one for the manager in recent weeks, led to some questions after the win against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, where Malo Gusto saw red.
Players trying too hard to keep a clear sheet says Maresca
Enzo Maresca answers awkward questions about Jose Mourinho.
Enzo Maresca answers awkward questions about Jose Mourinho.
Enzo Maresca denied it was anything to worry about and said he wasn’t planning to do anything about it – but clearly he’s changed tack since. His words in today’s presser ahead of the game against Ajax make it clear that he’s still not too concerned, but see him admitting that his will have to change something:
“For sure it’s something that we can do better,” the Chelsea boss said.
“I think that some of the red cards we could have avoided. For instance the last one, the Malo Gusto one, that was totally avoidable because it was 3-0, the game was finished. But as I said after the Nottingham Forest game, there’s another side to it: the players don’t want to concede, they want to be aggressive. For sure when you concede 5 or 6 red cards, that’s something that you need to improve, and it’s something we’re going to improve.”
Maresca on potential punishments for poor discipline
Maresca also denied that he was going to punish the players who had picked up the cards:
“Personally I’m not one of those managers to punish players. I don’t think, in my view, it’s the right way to do things. I prefer to help them to understand, and from there to do the right things. The Joao Pedro red card against Benfica was the last minute of the game, the Gusto red card was the last minutes of the game. So they are all different kinds of red cards, but it’s something where we have to do better.”
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