Liam Delap, the Chelsea forward, faced a disappointing return to action during the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium. After missing since early September with a hamstring injury, Delap returned to pitch for the first time as a second-half substitute. He got sent off after picking up two yellows in a startlingly short seven minutes, infuriating his coach, Enzo Maresca.
Delap was back on the field for the first time since August 30. At the time, his side held onto a precarious 3-2 lead when the incident occurred. Chelsea took an early grip on the game. Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Estevao all tallied in the first 45 minutes to give them an early lead. As the game wore on, Wolves played with desperation to make a comeback. Tolu Arokodare opened the scoring, and David Moller Wolfe finished it in style with his second goal deep in stoppage time.
In the 79th minute, Delap picked up his first yellow card for pushing Yerson Mosquera off the ball. Only seven minutes later, he used his elbow to strike Emmanuel Agbadou in the head. Outrageously, this got him a second yellow card and consequent sending off. This rapid-fire series of signings has even caught the ire of Maresca himself, who called the situation “idiotic and humiliating.”
It is humiliating when it’s a red card as it was today. Things that are embarrassing two cards in seven minutes, both we can prevent,” said Maresca after the game.
They’re suggesting that a Chelsea, or Manchester City coach doubted Delap’s levels of professionalism or composure under pressure on the pitch. And after that yellow card, I was saying, after the yellow card, four or five times, stay calm. On the pitch, Liam is a fierce competitor, tough-minded and unrelenting on the ball. Too often, he finds it hard even to focus on what’s going on around him,” Maresca continued.
Despite Delap’s dismissal, Chelsea managed to secure victory when Jamie Gittens scored a superb volley in the 89th minute, seemingly sealing the win for Maresca’s side. The game concluded with Chelsea coming out victorious over Wolves, though it was a crazy finish ignited by David Moller Wolfe’s 89th minute goal.
Leave a Reply