Enzo Maresca vows not to punish players for red cards but demands more discipline

Enzo Maresca has admitted Chelsea’s disciplinary record must improve but the head coach is adamant he will never punish his players for getting red cards.

Chelsea, who will be without the suspended João Pedro when they host Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday night, were reduced to 10 men for the fourth time this season when Malo Gusto received a needless second yellow card during the closing stages of last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

The statistics suggest that Chelsea, who have picked up 28 yellow cards in all competitions, are making life unnecessarily difficult for themselves. They are bottom of the Premier League’s fair play table and Maresca, who served a touchline ban against Forest after being sent off against Liverpool this month, acknowledged that Gusto’s dismissal for a late tackle highlighted where his team can show more restraint.

“It’s something that we can do better,” the Italian said. “The last one is completely avoidable, because it’s 0-3, the game is finished. For sure there is something that we have to improve.”

Maresca added context, saying that Gusto’s challenge stemmed from a desire to preserve a clean sheet. But accusations of naivety are not going away. Chelsea have the youngest side in the Premier League and Maresca was asked whether he would try to stamp out bad habits by punishing his squad.

“I’m not that kind of manager to punish players,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the right way to do things. I prefer to help them to understand, and then do the right things. They are all different kinds of red cards, but if you concede four or five it’s something that we have to improve.

“I have four kids and when they do something wrong, I don’t punish them. I try to teach them to do the right things. I try to treat the players in the same way. I think the players have a system inside the changing room, so a fine is something that they manage.”

Maresca hopes that Enzo Fernández will be available against Ajax after sitting out the Forest game with a knee injury. He said Liam Delap, out with a hamstring injury since August, was close to returning to training. The absence of Delap and João Pedro against Ajax means Marc Guiu could lead the line for Chelsea, who have a win and a defeat from their first two Champions League games.