‘It’s a cultural thing’ – Red cards and free kicks are ruining Chelsea’s season

Chelsea have received nine sending-offs in all competitions, although former manager Maresca, who was sent off for excessively celebrating a last-minute winning goal against Liverpool, does not count in that total.

They are one goal away from equaling the joint record of eight different players sent off in a single season, which is held by Sunderland. They are two goals away from matching the Premier League record for the most red cards in a season.

This is not a new issue at all.

Chelsea occupies last place in the fair play table in the English Premier League, and finished last season in second place from the bottom under the leadership of Maresca, and the previous year under the leadership of Mauricio Pochettino.

Maresca initially played down concerns before later launching his own review of the team’s indiscipline prior to his departure. Meanwhile, Rosenior believed he had made Chelsea’s disciplinary woes worse, only to see red cards return in successive matches.

“I have respect for former coach Enzo [Maresca]. “I don’t talk about what happened before, but it started happening to me,” Rosenior said.

“That’s something I felt we addressed. We’ve gone 10 games without a red card now [we have had] “Two in two games and this is a problem we need to solve.”

Why is Chelsea expelling so many players?

One possible factor, which is underestimated internally in west London, is that they have the smallest squad in the Premier League and lack natural leaders.

“It’s costing them. I don’t think it’s something you can address at this stage – you’re in March,” former England defender Matthew Upson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It’s something that is said in pre-season. It’s cultural and it’s built into the club. The players buy into it and monitor it. It’s about measuring and controlling at the right moment.

“Again, they’re young too. The younger you are, the more vulnerable you are to those situations.”

Reece James, one of the leaders tasked with helping halt Chelsea’s disciplinary slide, told Sky Sports: “Every time it’s a different person, not the same player. Internally, we need to review and keep improving. It’s a problem.”

“We are playing in the toughest league in the world – 11v11 is tough, 11v10 is even tougher, no matter who you play.”