Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca.
Enzo Maresca fought back against a reporter after they questioned a lack of discipline during his final months at Chelsea.
Now at Manchester City, Maresca has seen his players pick up 22 cards across their 14 matches this season.
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca.3
Maresca challenged a reporter after being asked about the number of red cards his Chelsea players were shown last season
During their Carabao Cup win against Brighton on Wednesday night, Ayyoub Bouaddi was booked in the 32nd minute and then taken off by the City manager at the beginning of the second half.
The same happened with Marc Guehi and Rayan Cherki on Saturday in their Premier League defeat at Aston Villa, as both players picked up yellow cards in the first half and were substituted for the second.
During his press conference on Friday ahead of a home clash against Brighton, Maresca addressed his early substitutions of players who have been on yellow cards.
He insisted that his decisions have not always been made in response to a player's lack of discipline, as he explained: "Sometimes it has been because I didn't like what I saw, so I changed."
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A reporter then asked about the red card record he oversaw as head coach at Chelsea, and the Italian called out a lack of knowledge.
What did Maresca say in his press conference?
He said: "When you look back at your Chelsea team last season, they got a lot of red cards. When you think back, was that quite a big issue for that team?"
"When I was there, or when I left?" Maresca asked, to which the reporter replied: "When you were there."
"And when I left," Maresca added. "You lack information. When I was there, and when I left."
The reporter then asked him: "So, it wasn't an issue, you don't think?"
"I don't think so," the City managed responded, before moving onto the next question.
Enzo Maresca as Chelsea head coach.3
During Maresca's spell at Chelsea last season, they had six players sent off across 28 matches in all competitions
How many red cards were Chelsea given under Maresca last season?
Maresca took charge of 28 Chelsea matches across all competitions last season before his exit in January.
They were given six different red cards awarded during that run, with all of Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah, Joao Pedro, Malo Gusto, Liam Delap and Moises Caicedo being dismissed.
Chelsea announced on New Year's Day that they had parted company with Maresca after a breakdown in their relationship.
Calum McFarlane took interim charge of the team on two occasions, either side of a short Liam Rosenior tenure.
Across the 29 post-Maresca matches, Chelsea were shown four more red cards.
Marc Cucurella and Pedro Neto were given their marching orders, and Wesley Fofana was sent off in two matches.
Chelsea's Pedro Neto reacts after receiving a red card3
Chelsea ended the season with a total of ten red cards, with eight of those coming in the Premier League
Chelsea later released a stinging statement, in which they did not directly mention Maresca's name at all, on the same day that he was announced as the new City manager.
They revealed that Maresca, who they acknowledged as their 'former head coach', had a strong desire to succeed Pep Guardiola at City.
He informed them of the opportunity last autumn and then resigned from his position at the end of the year, with Chelsea saying that the change caused disruption to what was ultimately a poor season.