Maresca refuses to punish Chelsea players for ‘avoidable’ red cards

Enzo Maresca believes both he and his Chelsea squad can “do better” to avoid red cards in the future.

The Blues have received a red card in four of their last six games in all competitions, including their Champions League win against Benfica.

Maresca was also in the stands for their last match against Nottingham Forest after being handed a touchline ban for his celebrations during Chelsea’s late win against Liverpool.

The Club World Cup champions face Ajax in their next fixture, the third European meeting between the two clubs having met twice in the 2019-20 Champions group stage – the Blues won 1-0 in Amsterdam before a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have lost just two of their last 12 Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge (W9 D1), both of which were against Real Madrid in quarter-finals in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The English side are also unbeaten in their last 12 group games at home (W8 D4) since a Valencia victory back in September 2019.

Maresca admitted some of the red cards for his players were “avoidable”, but refused to punish them for their actions.

“For sure, it's something we can do better,” said Maresca in his press conference ahead of the game.

“Some of the red cards, we can avoid that. I think the Malo [Gusto] one is avoidable because the game is almost finished.

“The other side, they do not want to concede and they want to continue to be aggressive. It's something we can improve.

“Personally, I'm not that kind of manager to punish players. In my view, I don't think it is the right way to do things.

“I prefer to help them understand and then from there, do the right things. It depends. They are different kinds of red cards.”

Ajax have lost their last five major European competition matches (three in Europa League last season, first two Champions League games this season), but Maresca still expects at tough challenge in London.

“They always try to play their football. For sure, it will be a difficult game,” Maresca added.

“They are a club that have won this competition in the past. They want to prove to everyone that they can come here and beat us. We are going to try and do exactly the same.”