Following Chelsea's narrow 4-3 League Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, manager Enzo Maresca addressed comments he made regarding Liam Delap's red card, clarifying his remarks and revealing that the striker apologized to the team. Delap's sending off occurred after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession, just 25 minutes after entering the match as a substitute.
Maresca initially stated that Delap was "playing the game for himself," and labeled the sending off as "embarrassing and stupid". These comments drew significant attention, prompting the need for clarification. Speaking ahead of Chelsea's Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, Maresca explained that his words may have been misinterpreted due to language differences. "I'm not from England so sometimes when I try to translate from Italian to English, sometimes it's a bit different," Maresca stated.
Maresca elaborated on his intended meaning, suggesting that Delap tends to be overly focused on individual battles with defenders, potentially to the detriment of the team's overall strategy. "Liam, on the pitch, is more focused on his battle with the central defender than the rest," Maresca said. Despite the criticism, Maresca expressed confidence in Delap's potential, stating, "I know that Liam will be a fantastic player for us but there are some things, like the rest, that he needs to improve".
The Chelsea manager also revealed that Delap apologized to his teammates immediately after the game. "I spoke with Liam, he knows everything, he's aware of the situation, he knows that he made a mistake. Full stop. No more than that," Maresca told reporters. "Straight after the game, in the changing room, he apologised to everyone".
Delap's red card is part of a concerning trend for Chelsea, who have now received five red cards in their last nine matches. Maresca acknowledged the need to address this disciplinary issue, admitting that some of the red cards were avoidable. "It's something we need to learn, something we need to do better. For sure in the future we will be better on that," he said. Maresca had previously described Delap's sending off as a "stupid foul" and "completely unnecessary". He also noted that he had urged Delap to "keep calm" after his first yellow card.
The victory against Wolves sees Chelsea advance to the quarter-finals of the League Cup where they will face Cardiff City. However, Delap will miss Chelsea's upcoming Premier League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur due to suspension. In addition to Delap's suspension, Chelsea will also be without Cole Palmer for the Spurs game. However, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro are all available for selection.
