Chelsea’s 3–0 victory over Nottingham Forest was marred by the Blues’ fifth red card in their last six matches, but Enzo Maresca is “not concerned” by his club’s disciplinary issues.
Malo Gusto became the latest Chelsea representative to see red this season when the midfielder committed a wild tackle on Neco Williams in the dying moments of Saturday’s clash at the City Ground. The Frenchman was shown his second yellow card of the afternoon and sent packing in the 87th minute.
The red card makes it four in four games for Chelsea. Yet Maresca is not sounding any alarm bells.
“Again, it’s something that we can do better, but I’m not concerned,” the Italian manager said after the Blues’ latest win. “Some of you might say, why is he not concerned? I’m not concerned, because I like to analyse.”
Maresca’s comments echo his previous sentiments shared ahead of the October international break, where he admitted each sending off must be “analysed case by case.”
Maresca: ‘Intentions’ Behind Chelsea’s Red Cards Matter
Maresca himself is part of Chelsea’s unwanted red card-streak. The 45-year-old was sent off for his celebrations against Liverpool after Estêvão’s last-gasp winner at Stamford Bridge.
Plus, João Pedro received a second yellow for a high boot against Benfica and Trevoh Chalobah was sent packing for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity against Brighton.
Robert Sánchez was also dismissed just five minutes into the Blues’ clash with Manchester United for a poor last-man challenge on Bryan Mbeumo. In their last six matches, Maresca’s side only managed to avoid a red card in their 2–1 victory over Lincoln in the Carabao Cup.
Maresca, though, sees difficulty in lumping all the bookings together.
“When it’s a red card for bad intention or for bad discipline, it is different compared to the Manchester United red card or Brighton red card,” the manager said after Pedro was sent off in the Champions League.
“In that case, it’s just the decision that you have to take in two seconds, three seconds. Do I do foul or not? It is difficult. So we analyse case for case. Even if we concede [a total of] four red cards, it is not something normal because, again, it is for different reasons.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Enzo Maresca Offers Defiant Response to Chelsea’s Red Card Crisis.