Wesley Fofana was given his marching orders during the second half of Chelsea's clash against Burnley. The Blues defender was shown his second yellow card following a late challenge on James Ward-Prowse.
Lunging for a loose ball in the middle of the park, Fofana planted his boot on the ankle of the former West Ham midfielder. Lewis Smith booked the France international, whose dismissal dropped the curtain on Cole Palmer's afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
Liam Rosenior replaced the Chelsea talisman with Tosin Adarabioyo in an effort to shore up the backline. A few moments later, Jorrel Hato was brought on for Malo Gusto, and Joao Pedro, who put the west Londoners ahead in the opening minutes of the tie, made way for Liam Delap.
The Chelsea boss used his fourth and fifth changes in the final minutes, bringing on Mamadou Sarr and Josh Acheampong for Pedro Neto and Reece James, respectively. Then, in stoppage time, Zian Flemming pulled back an equaliser for Burnley.
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Including Enzo Maresca's sending off against Liverpool, it was the ninth red card of the season for the Blues. Fofana will now serve a one-match ban and miss Chelsea's clash against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium next weekend.
Speaking to reporters at Cobham on Thursday afternoon, Rosenior commented on whether there's an element of complacency among top teams when they face the struggling sides. The Blues boss said: "I don't think it's just complacency.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana is sent off against Burnley.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana is sent off against Burnley.
"Wolves were outstanding [against Arsenal] yesterday. I watched the game. This is such a strong league now. Every team can beat everyone. That's why the league is so close in terms of points between so many teams.
"What we have to do is we have to focus on our own performance. We have to make sure that we prepare ourselves right. But the way I like to do it is to be consistent in our process, whether we're playing Wolves, whether we're playing Burnley tomorrow, whether we're playing Manchester City or Arsenal.
"Our process is the same. It has to be that way for you to be consistent in your performance."
Joao Pedro celebrates
Joao Pedro celebrates opening the scoring for Chelsea against Burnley (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
On whether there's advantage in playing before Liverpool and Manchester United, who don't play until Sunday and Monday respectively, Rosenior said: "It's February. It's February.
"There's plenty of time. I swear, I've not even considered what time we're playing. We need to win our game. It's as simple as that. We need to do our job. It's not going to be simple.
"Burnley went away to Crystal Palace and won. We watched Wolves [vs Arsenal]. This is a strong league. We watched Wolves yesterday in their performance. We have to take care of our business regardless of what time we play."
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