Chelsea’s discipline almost cost them once again as Liam Delap received a red card in their Carabao Cup tie with Wolves.
The Blues endured something of a rollercoaster evening at Molineux, despite taking a 3-0 lead into the break.
Goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Estevao gave Chelsea a grip on the game, before Wolves clawed themselves back into it.
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Tolu Arokodare and David Moller Wolfe both got on the scoresheet to make things tense, with Liam Delap’s red card only heightening the concern.
Jamie Gittens finished the game with a wonderstrike, but not before Wolfe scored again in a chaotic match that ended 4-3.
There is a sense of relief and frustration that emanated from Chelsea, with Enzo Maresca particularly fuming at Delap for his moment of madness.
Enzo Maresca reacts during a Chelsea match
Photo by Steph Chambers – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Chelsea’s red card record so far this season
Red cards have already cost Chelsea this season, and it nearly impacted them again when a few minutes of madness from Delap saw him sent off for two yellow card offences.
Maresca was fuming at the returning striker in his press conference, hitting out at him and claiming that he was playing for himself.
“Very stupid red card that was completely unnecessary,” the manager said after the game. “Absolutely deserved. It was a stupid foul. We can avoid that. I completely support the red card.”
The fume from Maresca is understandable when looking at Chelsea’s poor disciplinary record so far this season.
The Blues have picked up five yellow cards in their last nine matches across all competitions, a record that has seen games become tougher than they need to be.
Wins against Benfica, Nottingham Forest and Wolves with ten men saw them avoid any problems, though defeats to Manchester United and Brighton with a red card don’t help their case.
Club Yellow cards Red cards
Chelsea 18 3
Brighton 24 0
Bournemouth 23 0
Everton 22 0
The top four worst discipline records in the Premier League so far.
Not only is it making those games tougher, but it’s also impacting the options available to Maresca in the following matches.
Delap is simply a continuation of that trend, with the culmination of that ending with the Chelsea boss venting his fury.
Liam Delap is sent off for Chelsea in their Carabao Cup match with Wolves
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Liam Delap could become Chelsea’s next Diego Costa
It’s far from an ideal return to action for Delap, who has had a stop-start opening few months of his Chelsea career due to injury.
The striker now has a challenge to win the trust of his manager back once again, in a way only he knows how.
The physicality of the 22-year-old is his strong point, and while that will come with some bookings along the way, he needs to weaponise it to push Chelsea forward.
It wasn’t all that long ago that the Blues had a similar profile of player in Diego Costa, who was willing to throw himself around in the face of defenders.
The forward ended up being pretty popular for his goal-scoring and the character he brought to the overall team.
If Delap can follow on a similar path, then he can be a success.