Chelsea boss Maresca slams Delap’s ‘foolish’ red card in EFL Cup thriller

By: Abudu Olalekan

Okay, so picture this. You’re Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. Your team just scraped through a wild, wild Carabao Cup game against Wolves. It ended 4-3, right? Absolute chaos. But instead of celebrating a last-minute winner by Jamie Gittens that sends you to the quarter-finals? You’re fuming. Because one of your players—Liam Delap, a striker who’d just come back from a 10-week hamstring nightmare—did something so boneheaded, it’s all anyone can talk about.

Delap only stepped onto the pitch as a sub. 26 minutes later? He was gone. Sent off. And not for some sneaky, clever foul either. Nope. Two yellows in, like, five minutes. First, he shoved Yerson Mosquera. Then, just for kicks, he barged into Emmanuel Agbadou. Boom. Two cards. Red. And just like that, he’s out for the next game against Tottenham. João Pedro’s already iffy with fitness, so now Chelsea’s attack’s looking thinner than a budget pizza.

Maresca? Did not hold back. When reporters asked if the red was deserved? “Absolutely, yes,” he snapped. “Stupid foul. We can avoid that.” Ouch. But wait—there’s more. Turns out, Maresca had actually warned Delap during the game. “After the first yellow,” he said, “I told him four or five times to keep calm.” But Delap? “When he’s on the pitch,” Maresca added, kinda shaking his head, “he’s probably playing the game for himself. Struggles to listen.” Yikes. That’s gotta sting.

But here’s the thing. This isn’t just one bad night. Oh no. This is Chelsea’s sixth red card in nine games. And yeah, they’ve also led the Premier League in yellow cards for three seasons running. Maresca’s had enough. “It’s embarrassing,” he admitted, talking about the reds against Nottingham Forest and now this Wolves mess. “Both we can and have to avoid.” He’s right, too. Some cards happen—like the ones against Brighton or Man United, where it’s just bad luck. But these? These are self-inflicted.

Now, about the actual game? Wild doesn’t cover it. Chelsea was coasting at halftime. 3-0 up. Looking comfy. Then Wolves woke up. Scored three in the second half. Absolute meltdown. But Gittens saved their blushes with that late stunner. Still, Maresca wasn’t having it. “The three goals we conceded,” he grumbled, “all of them we can avoid.” And yeah, the red card didn’t help. But even without Delap losing his cool? The defense went to sleep. Big time.

So what now? Delap’s banned for the Spurs game. Chelsea’s gotta figure out how to stop shooting themselves in the foot. And Maresca? He’s probably still muttering about “foolish” decisions. Because honestly? When you’re fighting for trophies, you can’t afford to hand wins to the other team. Or, y’know, get sent off for being a hothead.