Online Reporter
Enzo Maresca revealed he is ‘embarrassed’ by Chelsea’s lack of discipline and appeared to accuse Liam Delap of selfish play after the forward recorded the club’s sixth red card in nine games.
Chelsea squeezed past Wolves 4-3 in a remarkable Carabao Cup tie but were not helped by the dismissal of Delap, who came on as a second-half substitute only to pick up two yellow cards in seven minutes.
Maresca offered no justification for the decisions and offered a withering verdict on Delap, who joined the club from Ipswich last summer for £30million.
‘We had a very stupid red card that was completely unnecessary, and was absolutely deserved,’ said Maresca. ‘‘We can avoid red cards like these and we have to avoid them.
‘‘When it’s a red card like today, it’s embarrassing. There were two yellow cards in seven minutes, both avoidable. It’s no good. After the yellow card, I told him (Delap) four or five times to keep calm.
‘‘But Liam is a player that when he’s inside the pitch probably he’ll be playing the game for himself and he struggles to realise and to listen around him.’’
Under-pressure Wolves boss Vitor Pereira was told he was ‘‘getting sacked in the morning’’ during the first half but by the final whistle, the home fans were applauding his team.
On Saturday they will try to register their first league win of the season when they visit Fulham.
Asked about Wolves’ survival chances, Pereira said: ‘‘We will do it again. I don’t have any doubts we’ll turn around the situation.
‘‘We are a small club but we can do it together. This is the message. It’s not about me.’’ – Daily Mail
Mathew Masinge