We don't have discipline problems — Maresca defends Chelsea players despite 7 red cards

During Chelsea's 2-1 loss to Aston Villa at the weekend, referee Stuart Atwell issued five yellow cards to Blues' players.

Manager Enzo Maresca himself was absent from the touchline, serving his second ban of the season for accumulating too many personal cautions, forcing him to watch the match from the press box.

The club's disciplinary issues have also had financial consequences. Chelsea have been fined twice by the FA this season for receiving an excessive number of bookings in a single match.

A £25,000 penalty followed their defeat to Manchester United in September, and a £50,000 fine was imposed after a 2-2 draw with Newcastle before Christmas. They were just one booking away from a third fine of £75,000 against Villa.

More disturbingly, a significant number of red cards have been shown to Chelsea personnel in the first half of the campaign, with Joao Pedro, Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo, Liam Delap, and Malo Gusto all being sent off, in addition to Maresca himself.

Despite the evidence, Maresca remains adamant that ill-discipline is not a systemic issue within his squad.

"Again, we need to analyse every yellow card," Maresca stated. "But I didn't have the feeling [against Villa] that there was a disciplinary problem."

The Blues are now in 5th place, 10 points behind third-placed Aston Villa.

Looking ahead to their final match of 2025 against Bournemouth on Tuesday, Maresca stressed the need to end the year on a positive note.

"Absolutely very important. It becomes very important to finish the year in the best way," he commented.

"It will be another tough game because they are all the same, but we need to win games as soon as possible."