Chelsea kept Wolverhampton Wanderers at arm’s length after taking a 3-0 lead in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
The fourth round tie at Molineux ended in a 4-3 win for Chelsea after the home team had pulled two goals back in the second half. Both teams scored late goals but the Blues’ quarter-final place was sullied by Liam Delap’s red card.
The England Under-21 striker hadn’t played since the end of August, when he pulled up with a hamstring injury in Chelsea’s controversial win over Fulham.
Is Chelsea’s Liam Delap available this weekend?
Delap was dismissed less than half an hour into his return from injury for the Blues and was fortunate to last as long as he did.
After twice flooring Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera in an unnecessary altercation on the edge of the opposition penalty area, the 22-year-old was extremely lucky that referee Thomas Bramall opted for a second yellow in the aftermath of his elbow on Emmanuel Agbadou.
Many referees would have plumped for a straight red for the challenge and Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was seething after the game. Chelsea have had six red cards in their last nine games, including for Maresca himself.
“Very stupid red card that was completely unnecessary,” said the Blues boss.
“Absolutely deserved. It was a stupid foul. We can avoid that. I completely support the red card.
“After the yellow card, I told him four or five times [to] keep calm. But Liam is a player inside the pitch, playing the game for himself and he struggles to listen to things around him.”
That scathing review of a player Chelsea signed for a reported fee of £30 million will be put on a back burner for a few days because the red card means Delap will not play against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
While red cards picked up in the FA Cup or in the Champions League come with ringfenced substitutions within those competitions, players sent off in the Premier League and Carabao Cup serve their suspensions in matches in either competition.
Chelsea have an injury list full of players who would be in contention to play, including Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill and Cole Palmer.
Having only just been given a clean bill of health, Delap has understandably irked his manager by ruling himself out of a London derby.
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