Wolves 3-4 Chelsea: Enzo Maresca says ‘very stupid’ red cards this season are ’embarrassing’

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca described Liam Delap’s red card in the 4-3 win over Wolves in the Carabao Cup as “absolutely stupid” and said the Blues’ repeated sending offs this season had become “embarrassing”.

Delap returned from a 10-week absence with a hamstring injury, but was sent off just 26 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute, after pushing on Yerson Mosquera and cutting in on Emmanuel Agbadu inside just seven minutes.

The 22-year-old will now miss Saturday’s trip to London rivals Tottenham, amid fitness concerns over fellow striker Joao Pedro.

When asked if Delap deserved to be sent off, Maresca said: “Absolutely, yes. Stupid mistake. We can avoid that.”

The dismissal came as part of Chelsea’s broader collapse. They led 3-0 at the break but after the break Wolves scored three goals, with Jamie Gittins’ sensational strike late enough to send the Blues through to the quarter-finals to face Cardiff City.

Maresca added: “I think the three goals we conceded, I think we can avoid them all. Of course, today we also got a very stupid red card that was not necessary at all.”

“After the first yellow card I told him [Delap] Four or five times to keep calm. But Liam is a player who, when he is on the pitch, may be playing the game himself and struggling to perceive and listen to those around him.”

It was Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine matches, including Maresca’s red card for celebrating a last-minute winning goal against Liverpool before the international break.

The Italian was asked to clarify whether he had wider concerns about indiscipline, with Chelsea also receiving the highest number of yellow cards in the Premier League over the past three seasons.

He continued: “I completely understand when there are red cards like what happened against Brighton [Trevoh Chalobah red] Or Manchester United [Robert Sanchez red]This is difficult, but the red cards against Nottingham Forest today, we can and must avoid them.

“It’s embarrassing when you get a red card like today, because he got two yellow cards in five or 10 minutes. I think we can avoid both. So it’s not good.”