Enzo Maresca Blasts Chelsea Players For Red Card Giveaway In Brighton Defeat
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has berated his players for always giving away red card presents following a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
The Blues suffered their first home defeat of the season and also had a player sent off the second consecutive game after Robert Sanchez was sent off against Manchester United last weekend.
Trevor Chalobah was giving the marching orders for a foul on Georginio Rutter in the 56th minute.
Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 24th minute, and they capitulated, a few minutes after Chalobah was sent off.
Substitute Danny Welbeck scored two well-taken goals, and Maxim de Cuyper added the third goal to hand Brighton the maximum points.
Maresca was disappointed with his players after another red card changed the course of the game leading to two consecutive defeats.
He said: “It’s a tough one as we were in control of the game, we scored one and could’ve scored more,’ reflected Maresca in his post-match press conference.
“We didn’t concede anything and in terms of the data, we had so many shots in the first half and had 70 per cent possession. Everything was fine. Then, because of our mistake with the red card, the plan completely changed.
“So, for me, we played two games: the one in the first half and then, unfortunately, another after the red card.
“Against any team in the Premier League, you can’t continue to give away presents, because at this moment we are giving presents with red cards. You cannot continue to make mistakes because they are big, game-changing mistakes; the red card against Manchester United and the red card today.”
Chelsea will be back in action in the Champions League on Tuesday against Benfica at Stamford Bridge.
