Enzo Maresca has accused Liam Delap of ‘playing for himself’ following Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
Delap made his return from a hamstring injury on Wednesday, coming on in the second half at Molineux, but was sent off within 25 minutes after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.
The striker was booked in the 79th minute for pushing Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera in an off-the-ball incident and just seven minutes later was shown a second for elbowing Emmanuel Agbadou.
Maresca branded Delap’s red card ‘absolutely deserved’ and ‘completely unnecessary’, while describing the 22-year-old’s actions as ‘very stupid’.
The Italian tactician said he tried to calm Delap down after his first yellow card but admitted the striker ‘struggles to listen to things around him’, with Chelsea picking up their fifth red card of the season.
Enzo Maresca Slams Liam Delap
Liam Delap during a training session with the England under-21 squad
Maresca, speaking in his post-match press conference, criticised Delap’s sending-off as ‘embarrassing and very stupid’ when discussing the 22-year-old’s short cameo at Molineux.
Footage shared on X shows Delap elbowing Agbadou in the second half, an incident that saw the Chelsea striker receive his second yellow card.
Chelsea were leading 3-2 when Delap was dismissed, with Tolu Arokodare and David Moller Wolfe scoring for Wolves in the second half to cut Chelsea’s three-goal half-time lead, which came through goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Estevao.
Jamie Gittens sealed the victory for the visitors with a volleyed finish in the 89th minute, though Wolves managed to pull another back in injury time through Wolfe.
Chelsea, who face Cardiff City in the quarter-finals, will be without Delap for their trip to Tottenham on Saturday after the striker was shown red for the first time in his senior career.
Delap, a summer signing from Ipswich Town, made his fourth appearance of the season for the Blues on Wednesday after missing the last six weeks with a hamstring injury.
The 22-year-old has yet to register a goal contribution for Chelsea since the Club World Cup, where he netted once in six games, and has now gone ten league games without scoring, including seven appearances for Ipswich last season.