Calum McFarlane has conceded that some of Chelsea's conduct needs to be 'looked at' after Wednesday's 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
The Blues suffered yet another setback in the Premier League as Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson scored the decisive goals at Craven Cottage.
However, the pivotal moment in the match came when Marc Cucurella was sent off in the 22nd minute for pulling down Wilson when last man.
© Imago / Sportimage
As VAR assessed the decision, each of Enzo Fernandez, Tosin Adarabioyo and Cole Palmer were booked for their complaints within three minutes of the incident.
After several suggestions of a discipline problem earlier in the campaign, the subject inevitably came up in McFarlane's post-match press conference, his last act before handing the reins to new head coach Liam Rosenior.
McFarlane delivers balanced argument on Chelsea 'ill-discipline'
Although McFarlane claimed that Cucurella's dismissal was a "football" incident, the Under-21s coach admitted that lessons need to be learned over how Chelsea's players conducted themselves in the aftermath.
He told reporters: "Obviously, there's been a lot made of the red cards this season. I don't think this red card is ill-disciplined. This is football. This happens in football.
"You get caught one-v-one and Marc is one of the best defenders in the world. So, he would defend that situation nine times out of 10. Harry Wilson's clever and he shows quality as well. He's a very good player. So, we got caught from a football and structural standpoint. So, that red card is not a lack of ill-discipline.
© Imago / News Images
"The three yellow cards directly after is something we'll have to look at, but I would argue that we don't want that to happen, obviously. I would then argue that they showed discipline to not get another yellow card in a tough game with 10 men.
"So, you can look at it either way. So, it's definitely something we have to look at. I'm not shying away from that. But that red card wasn't down to ill-discipline."
How do Chelsea's yellow, red cards total compare to rest of Premier League?
Chelsea have accumulated 47 yellow cards in this season's Premier League, with only Brighton & Hove Albion (55), Tottenham Hotspur (53) and Bournemouth (51) being handed more cautions.
However, Chelsea have been given five red cards, two more than Everton and at least three more than the rest of the division.
The majority of the aforementioned totals have come in away games, Chelsea having collected 30 yellows and three reds across just 11 fixtures.