Enzo Maresca tactic blamed by Marc Cucurella for Chelsea’s recent red card woes

While Cucurella is not making excuses for the number of red cards Chelsea have received, he does believe the team’s pressing style is putting extra pressure on the backline and creating risky situations.

“Many of them are because we want to go and pressure the opponent. We played with a lot of open space. And in those one-on-one situations, if you arrive a little late, it can lead to a red card,” he began by saying to AS.

“But that’s no excuse. We have to improve on those small mistakes and learn how to suffer when we have to play with ten men.”

Chelsea are dealing with more than just disciplinary issues at the moment. The Club World Cup holders have also been hit by injuries in recent weeks.

Andrey Santos has been ruled out and will miss the upcoming match against Liverpool.

Liverpool are not without problems either. Alisson is already confirmed out for their visit to Stamford Bridge, while Hugo Ekitike may also be unavailable for Saturday’s match.

Enzo Maresca sticks to his style

Maresca has a clear vision for how he wants his teams to play and has not shown much interest in changing it.

Last season, when fans were unhappy with Filip Jorgensen for not clearing the ball long enough, Maresca made it clear that sticking to the plan was non-negotiable.

He told the keeper that if he started playing direct, he would be taken off. After a match against Southampton, Maresca doubled down on this stance: “My message to Filip was if you play a long ball, I will change you, I am very happy. It is difficult for all the keepers [getting jeered] but they just need to follow the plan.”

Maresca’s approach is not changing anytime soon. Instead of adjusting the system, Chelsea’s players will need to learn how to handle one-on-one situations better and avoid picking up unnecessary cards.