Enzo Maresca continues to get most things right as Chelsea head coach but he needs to start taking Chelsea’s disciplinary issues a bit more seriously.
For the second time this campaign, Marc Cucurella will serve a one-game ban. His needless altercation with Kevin Schade after the final whistle of Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Brentford, which earned the Spain international a second yellow card, means he will miss the trip to Everton on Sunday.
Should Chelsea win, they will go top of the table before Liverpool take on Tottenham Hotspur later in the afternoon. That would be some feat and a rich reward for the club’s fine form. But it will not be easy. Chelsea have won on just one of their last seven league visits there and returned south without even a point five times.
As he showed against Brentford, Cucurella is one of Maresca’s finest performers and you would much rather him be on the pitch at Goodison Park than watching from the sidelines or at home.
The Spain international was absent on the last occasion Chelsea went to Merseyside this season to take on league leaders Liverpool in October, courtesy of a one-match ban for picking up five yellow cards. So too was centre-back Wesley Fofana for the same reason. The result? Chelsea lost 2-1.
It would be unfair to pin the loss that day solely on the duo being unavailable. Many factors contributed, but not having two of the first-choice back four did not improve Chelsea’s chances.
Against Brentford, Pedro Neto became the third Chelsea player to sit out a match courtesy of the five-yellow-card rule. Chelsea won a tight game without him, but he was missed as an option off the bench even though Noni Madueke set up the opening goal from Neto’s favoured position on the right wing.
Chelsea’s great run of results — they have become the first side to win five Premier League games in succession this season — is worthy of praise. But to become better, they have to judge themselves in every department to the highest standard.
GO DEEPER
Why are Premier League teams so inconsistent this season?
The cut-off point for avoiding the one-game ban for five yellow cards is 19 Premier League fixtures. Chelsea have played 16 but at least seven players are still vulnerable to the sanction. This includes main striker Nicolas Jackson (four yellows), Maresca’s No 1 keeper Robert Sanchez (four yellows), plus Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill and Madueke (all on three).
Then there is the added complication of getting a two-match ban for 10 yellow cards up to, and including, the 32nd Premier League game and sitting out three games if you reach the tally of 15 yellow cards. You cannot say a further suspension is out of reach for Cucurella, Fofana and Neto at the rate they are going.
Sometimes a booking can come down to bad luck, a slightly mistimed challenge or a referee being a tad overzealous. There will be people who will have sympathy for Cucurella given he was disciplined for simply ‘adopting an aggressive attitude’, not the most heinous crime. There are bookings which are seen in a positive light because the side is showing they are not a soft touch or that an individual will put the team before themselves by producing a ‘tactical foul’ to stop an attack.
But there is a balance and picking up too many has to be considered counter-productive. Chelsea are doing so well, yet this is an area that needs to be improved. Missing players through suspension can contribute to the fine margins which decide games and can upset the rhythm.
For Chelsea to bring up the half-century of yellow cards already, which as the table below shows is the most any Premier League team has received in 2024-25, is not to be simply ignored.
When you consider Chelsea set a new Premier League record of 105 yellows in a single campaign under Mauricio Pochettino last season with most of the same players, then it feels like they have carried on from where they left off rather than learning lessons.
No one can accuse Maresca of not being consistent on the topic. When The Athletic raised the subject with him in October, the Italian gave it short shrift. He said: “I don’t think it is a discipline problem at all. Have I spoken to the players about it? No, no, absolutely (not).” Chelsea had collected 21 yellows in just six league fixtures at that stage. Eight of those came a few weeks earlier at Bournemouth, which was part of another Premier League record for most yellows shown in a single game (14 players, plus both coaches).
Chelsea were fined £25,000 by the Football Association for it, an automatic punishment for having at least six yellow cards in a match. They have been fined a further £50,000 and £75,000 for repeating the feat against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle respectively. They are the first Premier League team to have had a minimum of six yellows shown in three separate fixtures. It is not a good look and now Cucurella is the first Chelsea player to be sent off in the league in 2024-25.
Pressed by this reporter on whether he thinks they have an issue with discipline now, Maresca played it down again. He said: “No, no. I’ve said many times we can do many things better; the way we attack and the way we defend but also the way we need to manage some moments. This is probably one of the moments we can improve but overall, with the spirit of the team, we know that sometimes you can receive some yellow cards.
“Probably the second one (for Cucurella) is not the correct thing to do, but there are things that we need to improve. Yes Cucu will be suspended and there will be another one in his place. Pedro (Neto) was suspended and Noni’s (Madueke’s) performance was top. So in the moment they are suspended, another one will play and if the other one does good, we will see after they come back.”
Maresca is right to highlight the strength of the squad, but Chelsea are going to be at their strongest when they have all of their best players to choose from. Absentees from injury are unfortunate, suspensions less so.
(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
