Fixing Chelsea's red card problem: Rating all SIX of the Blues' dismissals this season by how stupid they were, the sending off which infuriated Enzo Maresca the most and the expert referee view on how they can get back in the good books

Liam Delap is good at mathematics. Scarily good. A walking calculator who can solve complex equations for fun. Ask him the cubed root of 778,688 and within a second he will tell you the answer with a smile: 92, of course.

We know this because while killing time at a photoshoot for the club’s third kit two months ago, Chelsea staff members threw all manner of numbers at him. What about 274,625? It’s 65, duh. Or 39,304? Easy, 34. How do you know all this? ‘Just clever, innit,’ Delap replied.

So Chelsea’s striker can probably do the maths on what his second yellow card against Wolverhampton Wanderers means. It means his club have received six reds in their last nine games. It means they have now spent 12.5 per cent of this entire season down to 10 men. It means they have played 1,412 minutes in total in all competitions, and 177 of those a player shy.

Now, Maresca could call a team meeting, show his squad the footage of their foolishness, the straight reds received unnecessarily and the second yellows that were silly.

But then that would be awkward for Chelsea’s head coach. He would need to include a clip of himself celebrating Estevao Willian’s stoppage-time winner over Liverpool by sprinting down the touchline when already on a caution. He contributed to that absurd red card tally himself.

Chelsea are hurting themselves with their persistent indiscipline. They've received reds in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup – only the FA Cup to go to complete a competition clean sweep! Daily Mail Sport sat down to run through those dismissals, rating each for their folly. On a scale of 1 – desperately unfortunate – to 10 – idiotic self-sabotage – here goes...

Robert Sanchez v Man Utd, Premier League (drawing 0-0, lost 2-1)

Opta’s statistics say Chelsea have competed in the fewest aerial duels in the Premier League this season. They are not the greatest at winning them, and this dismissal started with Trevoh Chalobah losing one to Benjamin Sesko in the fifth minute at Old Trafford.

Bryan Mbeumo was confident Sesko would head on the long ball into the space behind. He did so, and Sanchez charged out of his box in a bid to reach it first.

Now, in hindsight, we can say this was somewhat naive. Any contact with Mbeumo and it's an automatic red. Sanchez would have been better served staying in his box, making himself as big as possible, and accepting the situation he was in, especially so early in the game.

In the heat of the moment, though, we can understand why Sanchez might have thought he needed to intervene. Mbeumo had sprinted clear of Wesley Fofana and Moises Caicedo, and Chalobah was lagging way behind, so he tried to clean up their mess.

Maresca afterwards told us that he would have preferred to concede a goal than lose his goalkeeper after five minutes, and he was right. There is some leeway for Sanchez on our silliness scale because he was honestly trying to avoid conceding.

Idiocy rating – 3/10

Trevoh Chalobah v Brighton, Premier League (winning 1-0, lost 3-1)

While trying to win a header with Kaoru Mitoma, Reece James turned his ankle. It was a sore one which required medical treatment and so he had to leave the pitch before play could continue.

Chalobah had the ball and, with James waiting to be allowed back on, Andrey Santos filled in at right back as an option to receive the pass. When that happened, Santos’ first touch was terrible, sending him backwards and allowing Mitoma to press him aggressively.

Santos slid towards the ball in desperation. He wanted to send it towards Sanchez or Chalobah. Instead, he gave it to Diego Gomez. That put Chalobah in an unenviable position.

He hoped he could commit a clean challenge. He did not. He brought down Gomez and rashly denied a goalscoring opportunity for Brighton as he was dismissed via VAR.

Santos’ error does not excuse Chalobah’s tackle entirely – like Sanchez, he could have allowed the attacking move to continue while trying to thwart Gomez legally – but this was a wholly avoidable situation. Chelsea were winning 1-0 and ended up losing 3-1 as Maresca lamented the ‘presents’ they were giving their Premier League rivals, with two players at fault here.

Idiocy rating – 4/10

Joao Pedro v Benfica, Champions League (winning 1-0, won 1-0)

Joao Pedro was introduced after 61 minutes and by the 62nd, he was booked. Now, this particular caution was a travesty. He tried to win an aerial duel with Enzo Barrenechea, who acted as if he had been clobbered in the head. German referee Daniel Siebert was fooled.

However, once on a yellow, it is on the player to not then give such a card-happy official a reason to show another. That was precisely what Joao Pedro did.

It was the sixth and final minute of stoppage time when Marc Cucurella took a throw-in. The ball bounced up and Joao Pedro lifted his foot towards the head of Leandro Barreiro.

He did not make contact, but that was partially due to Barreiro's efforts in avoiding his opponents’ studs. It was a dangerous action and this time, Siebert was right to reach for a second yellow. Maresca joked that, well, at least his side had shown they could win with 10 men.

Idiocy rating – 6/10

Enzo Maresca v Liverpool, Premier League (winning 2-1, won 2-1)

Apologies to the celebration police, but this red receives a pass, even if it does make it harder for Maresca to chastise his players for not keeping their heads when he failed to do so himself.

This was a massive game, played before Liverpool showed how soft they are under Arne Slot. Chelsea were taking on last season’s champions and had been the better side overall.

Then Estevao scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to make it 2-1.

It was the perfect ending to a team move, going from back to front, exactly how Maresca wants to see his side play. He could not help himself, breaking free from his technical area and sprinting down the touchline to join the celebrations in front of the Matthew Harding Stand.

Should he have known better? Perhaps, given he was already on a yellow, but it was hardly Luis Enrique at the end of the Club World Cup final laying hands on Joao Pedro because Paris Saint-Germain had lost. FIFA never took any action against Enrique to our knowledge, by the way.

No, this was a moment of ecstasy, and one which can be considered in that context. Maresca himself told us it was well worth the one-match suspension – they won 3-0 at Nottingham Forest in their next outing anyway – and the £8,000 fine he received from the FA.

Idiocy rating – 3/10

Malo Gusto v Nott'm Forest, Premier League (winning 3-0, won 3-0)

Gusto chased down Nikola Milenkovic in a bid to stop him from clearing the danger after 54 minutes. Points for the effort. None for the execution. He caught Milenkovic. It was reckless. Yellow card. Fair enough. On we go with the game.

Gusto played as if he had a point to prove in this particular match for whatever reason. He was throwing himself into tackles, though was never substituted by Maresca, who was sitting in the stands, or Willy Caballero, his assistant in the technical area.

Chelsea were leading 3-0 in the 87th minute when Neco Williams sprinted on to the ball down the wing. Williams has history with Chelsea. It was last season when he pushed Cucurella into Maresca by the touchline, sparking a melee between the players on the pitch.

Retribution did not come into Gusto’s thinking here, presumably. Rather, he wanted to protect a clean sheet. But then Williams was still in his own half. He could have chosen to chase him down. Perhaps tiredness kicked in as he opted for the lunge instead.

Needless to say, Gusto did not win the ball. He wiped out Williams, and was shown his second yellow, in what was one of the sillier decisions we have seen from Chelsea’s red-card clan.

Idiocy rating – 7/10

Liam Delap v Wolves, Carabao Cup (winning 3-2, won 4-3)

And so, to Wednesday night, and Chelsea's sixth red card in nine games.

The Blues loaned Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich in the summer after he had become a liability, picking up yellow and red cards for imbecilic reasons, and in came his replacement in Delap.

He was a bargain from Ipswich Town – £30million via his release clause – but he was also the most carded player in the Premier League last season. Delap is old school, loves a wrestle, and there are echoes of Diego Costa in how he plays with an edge.

He was introduced in the 61st minute against Wolves, his first appearance since August due to a hamstring injury. In the 79th, he fouled and then shoved Yerson Mosquera for an easy booking.

In the 86th, he crashed into Emmanuel Agbadou while contesting a bouncing ball. It appeared to involve malice. Delap was looking at Agbadou and not the ball. He leapt up and led with his arm. Perhaps he thought he could get away with it, given the lack of VAR in operation at Molineux. But arguably, this was straight-red worthy, let alone a reason to show a second yellow.

That broke Maresca. Finally, after weeks of defending his dismissed players, he snapped. He described it as ‘embarrassing’, ‘stupid’, ‘unnecessary' and practically called Delap selfish by saying he took no notice of his warnings from the touchline as he played only ‘for himself’.

Delap is now suspended for the trip to Tottenham this Saturday, and Maresca’s change in tone from his previous gently-gently approach was long overdue.

Chelsea have an addiction to red cards and as we know, the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. In a way, Maresca has now done that by laying into Delap, but it is over to the players to prove they are listening to their manager.

Idiocy rating – 10/10

THE EXPERT VIEW - BY FORMER REFEREE MARK CLATTENBURG 

If I were working inside Chelsea Football Club today, firstly I would accept that we have a discipline problem, and secondly I would phone Howard Webb at the PGMOL. 

I'd ask him if either he or one of his colleagues would come to Chelsea's training ground to speak with the players, in a group setting and in the confines of Cobham. Talk through their red cards with them. Show them where they went wrong in each instance. Explain how to stay on the right side of the laws of the game. 

The message might have more of an impact coming from the very organisation whose officials are the ones handing the players these cards, after all, rather than yet another meeting in which a manager tells them how idiotic they have been behaving. 

Look, from where I stand, I don’t categorise Chelsea as a ‘dirty side’ per se. I refereed a fair few of those in my time. Hell, I officiated the Battle of the Bridge in 2016, and we will see the next instalment of that rivalry this weekend.

Chelsea’s players will have discipline on their minds heading into that match with Spurs. They will know they have been doing this to themselves. 

Sides can go through a patch of poor discipline for one reason or another. Perhaps it’s because they’re fighting so desperately for points. Maybe their manager has been winding them up as he’s under pressure. Sometimes it’s simply bad luck. 

Referees know all the statistics going into games. The PGMOL provide their officials with data packs before each and every fixture so there are no surprises. But no referee goes into a game thinking he will have his yellow and red cards at the ready because of what’s happened previously. 

Jarred Gillett will take charge of Chelsea's trip to Tottenham this Saturday. He will know which players are the likeliest to commit fouls and he might look to manage those individuals more.  

Gillett will not be looking to show cards for the sake of it and risk becoming the talking point. Referees do not pre-judge. We react to what happens on the pitch, and unfortunately for Chelsea, they’ve been the ones giving officials every reason to produce reds of late.