Everything was fine — Maresca continues to blame ONE thing for Chelsea's woes

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca insists that they were the architects of their own downfall in the defeat to Brighton after a second consecutive match in which his side were reduced to 10 men. 

The Blues were beaten by Brighton, 3-1, despite opening the lead through Enzo Fernández. However, they were saddled with a numerical disadvantage when Trevor Chalobah got sent off in the 53rd minute. 

Brighton capitalised, exploiting the advantage to score thrice through Dani Welbeck (brace) and Maxim De Cuyper. This was the second consecutive game the Blues were sent down to 10 men, as a red card led to defeat against Manchester United last week. 

Maresca lamented after the match, insisting that his team played well, and expressing frustration that their efforts were jeopardised by avoidable errors.  

“It’s a tough one as we were in control of the game, we scored one and could’ve scored more,” Maresca said, per Chelsea.com. 

“We didn’t concede anything, and in terms of the data, we had so many shots in the first half and had 70 per cent possession. Everything was fine. Then, because of our mistake with the red card, the plan completely changed.

“So, for me, we played two games: the one in the first half and then, unfortunately, another after the red card.”

He warned that errors and red cards cannot become the norm, as Premier League clubs are well-equipped to exploit advantages. 

“Against any team in the Premier League, you can’t continue to give away presents, because at this moment we are giving presents with red cards.”

“You cannot continue to make mistakes because they are big, game-changing mistakes; the red card against Manchester United and the red card today. ”