'It's embarrassing!' - Furious Enzo Maresca accuses Liam Delap of 'playing for himself' after Chelsea striker sent off on injury return

Red cards have been one of the stories of Chelsea’s season so far, with the Blues having seen an astonishing six dismissals in their last nine matches. On this occasion, Maresca had little sympathy for Delap, who came on in the 61^st minute for his first appearance since victory over Fulham on August 30 and let frustration get the better of him in a brief cameo.

The Italian head-coach accused the 22-year-old striker of “playing for himself” as calls for calm fell on deaf ears when Delap earnt himself a second yellow card in the space of just seven minutes to earn "thug" accusations from fans.

Chelsea had been 3-0 up at half-time against the Premier League’s bottom side but Wolves rallied in the second period to set up a nervy finish. The Blues’ young stars had been at it again as Andrey Santos, Tyrique George, Estevao and Jamie Gittens all found the net, all 21 years of age or younger. Delap, just a year older than Santos and Gittens, had less of a positive evening as he earnt the first red card of his professional career.

Asked post-match by The Athletic about Chelsea’s red card tally and if it is becoming an embarrassment, Maresca replied: “Yes, it’s embarrassing when it’s a red card like today. Because it’s two yellow cards in five minutes, 10 minutes, I don’t know, seven minutes. Both, I think we can avoid that. So it’s not good.

“After the yellow card I told him four or five times to keep calm. But Liam is a player that when he’s inside the pitch probably he’ll be playing the game for himself, and he struggles to realise and to listen around him.

"Very stupid red card that was completely unnecessary. Absolutely deserved. It was a stupid foul. We can avoid that. I completely support the red card,” Maresca added.

"I completely understand when there are red cards like Brighton or Manchester United as that is difficult, but the red card against Nottingham Forest and this red card we can avoid. We have to avoid that.”

"Very happy first half, very upset second half," Maresca expressed at full-time. "It's always complicated to go away and score three goals. We were playing nice [going] forward, great chances.

"Second half, we were not doing the right things. The first goal we conceded opened a little bit the game - gave them the boost and the energy to come back into the game. And then I think all of [the three goals conceded] we can avoid."

Maresca’s words sum up a game of two halves for Chelsea, who will feel fortunate to have gone through to the next round unscathed despite Delap’s dismissal.

A quarter-final tie away at League One side Cardiff City awaits, the Bluebirds having beaten Welsh neighbours Wrexham 2-1 on Tuesday to secure a place in the last eight at the expense of their big-spending Championship rivals.

Chelsea have not won the League Cup since back in 2015, with no London side winning the competition in the decade since. Maresca’s side will hope that they can put that right this time around, with a relatively kind draw which will allow their young stars the opportunity to shine once again.

Delap will miss Chelsea’s London derby with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday, in what will be a blow for Maresca amidst the continued fitness concerns of Joao Pedro. The Brazilian has played through pain for much of the season and will hope to have some of the burden taken off him in the coming weeks by fellow new signing Delap, as Chelsea look to return to winning ways in the league.