Enzo Maresca calls out ‘EMBARRASSING’ Liam Delap in furious rant

Robin Bairner

Updated: 30 Oct 2025 07:54 GMT
3 min read

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has slammed summer signing Liam Delap following the club’s 4-3 Carabao Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.

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The Blues picked up a 4-3 victory over the Premier League strugglers, but they were not helped by a red card for former Manchester City and Ipswich striker Delap, who was cautioned twice in the space of seven minutes towards the end of the game.

Although a Jamie Gittens goal subsequently propelled Maresca’s side into the quarter-finals of the competition, the Italian was left seething by the actions of his frontman.

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Liam Delap

F (C)

Chelsea

Liam Delap

F (C)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€18.1M - €22.1M

“It's embarrassing when it's a red card like today. Two yellow cards in seven minutes. We can avoid both. It's not good,” Maresca said of Delap, who was making his first appearance since a hamstring injury in August.

“After the yellow card, I told him four or five times to stay calm.

“When he is on the pitch, he sometimes plays the game for himself and struggles to see the others around him.”

Delap faces Premier League ban and will sit out Spurs clash

Chelsea have ongoing discipline problems, with the Blues having seen six red cards in nine games.

Few were as avoidable as the one Delap saw after coming off the bench against Wolves. A foul on Yerson Mosquera saw him booked with little over 10 minutes remaining, then a careless charge on Emmanuel Agbadou a matter of minutes later saw the No.9 sent off.

Red cards in the Carabao Cup do count for the Premier League, which means that Delap will be suspended for Saturday’s clash against Tottenham but will be available for the long trip to Qarabag in the Champions League next Wednesday. The suspension will run for one game.

Delap missing the Spurs clash will infuriate Maresca, who is struggling to find options in attack due to the recent dip of Joao Pedro and the inexperience of Willian Estevao.

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