Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has strongly criticized his squad’s repeated indiscipline, calling Liam Delap’s “very stupid” red card during the narrow 4-3 Carabao Cup win against Wolves “embarrassing.”
Delap, returning from a hamstring injury, was on the pitch for just 26 minutes before being sent off for two quick yellow cards, shoving an opponent and then barging into another.
Maresca confirmed the dismissal was “absolutely” deserved, calling it a “stupid foul” and lamenting that Delap “struggles to realise and listen” while playing.
This was Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine games this season, adding to their history of high card counts in the Premier League.
The manager distinguished between tough-tackle dismissals and “unnecessary” ones like Delap’s, stating, “It’s embarrassing when it’s a red card like today… both we can and have to avoid.”
The red card and a second-half collapse, where Chelsea almost squandered a 3-0 lead, overshadowed their progression to the quarter-finals against Cardiff City.
Delap will now miss the upcoming match against Tottenham.
