Chelsea FC’s ongoing disciplinary problems came back into the spotlight after Pedro Neto was sent off during Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Arsenal FC, marking the club’s seventh red card in just 28 Premier League games this season.
Neto, who was already on a booking for dissent, took Gabriel Martinelli down with a reckless challenge soon after Arsenal had taken the lead again. Referee Darren England gave a second yellow card, leaving Chelsea with just 10 players and pretty much ending their chance to come back.
This was Liam Rosenior’s first loss in the league since he started managing the team in January. The numbers tell a bleak story: Chelsea have been getting a red card about once every four league games, which is more than twice as often as any other team. Everton is the only team with four dismissals, which is even close to half that number.
Only six teams have ever received more red cards in one Premier League season, and Sunderland in 2009-10 and Queens Park Rangers in 2011-12 share the record with nine each. Chelsea has now had nine red cards this season, with each one given to a different player.
Robert Sánchez getting sent off early at Manchester United and Wesley Fofana’s two bookings against Burnley are just a couple of times when careless mistakes on the field have hurt the team’s chances. The Blues have only managed to win one out of seven league games where they had a player sent off, drawing two and losing four.
Rosenior said he’s worried, feeling like there’s “something deep-lying” going on beneath the trend. Chelsea has one of the youngest teams in the league, but most of the red cards have come from players who are 24 or older.
Chelsea’s chance to qualify for the Champions League might come down to whether they can manage to keep all 11 players on the field. Their struggles with discipline could end up shaping how their whole season plays out.
