Enzo Maresca has acknowledged that Chelsea's disciplinary record needs improvement, but insists he will never punish his players for receiving red cards. The Blues were reduced to ten men for the fourth time this season when Malo Gusto was shown a second yellow card late in Saturday's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea sit bottom of the Premier League's fair play table with 28 yellow cards in all competitions. Maresca, who served a touchline ban against Forest after being sent off against Liverpool, described Gusto's dismissal as 'completely avoidable' with the game already decided. 'The last one is completely avoidable, because it's 0-3, the game is finished,' he said. 'For sure there is something that we have to improve.'
Despite the mounting cards, the Italian coach stated he will not resort to fines or punishments to change behaviour. 'I'm not that kind of manager to punish players,' he explained. 'I prefer to help them to understand, and then do the right things. 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.'
On the team news front, Maresca hopes Enzo Fernández will be available for Wednesday's Champions League clash against Ajax, having missed the Forest match with a knee injury. Liam Delap, sidelined with a hamstring problem since August, is close to returning to training. With both Delap and João Pedro suspended, Marc Guiu may lead the line for Chelsea, who have one win and one defeat from their first two European games.
