Chelsea host Tottenham in their final home game of this Premier League season, a campaign in which the Blues have seen a whopping seven red cards, establishing themselves as the team with the most sendings-off in a single domestic season since the 2011/12 campaign.
Chelsea are on the verge of bringing an end to a turbulent season in which the Blues could miss out on European qualification for next season following a run of poor results in the domestic league.
The Blues host Tottenham in their final home game of the season, aiming to end a run of seven games without a win in the domestic league. To do so, the London side will need to put in a solid performance against the Spurs and ensure tempers do not flare, something that has been a recurring theme this season.
Chelsea have received a total of seven red cards this season in the Premier League alone, setting a new club record and becoming the team with the most players sent off in a single domestic league campaign since 2011/2012, when QPR finished that season with a total of nine red cards.
Just two more sendings-off separate the Stamford Bridge side from breaking the record shared by QPR and Sunderland (2009/10), although this seems likely given that they have only the home game against Spurs and the away trip to the Black Cats remaining.
Youthful energy, costly mistakes
In addition to the seven league red cards, Chelsea have also picked up two more in cup competitions this season (Delap in the EFL Cup and Joao Pedro in the Champions League), bringing the total to nine dismissals across all competitions.
Furthermore, Enzo Maresca was sent off in the Blues’ 2-1 home win against Liverpool in October, so if we take the Italian’s sending-off into account, the total number of red cards would rise to an impressive 10 this season.
Many pundits have highlighted that one of the reasons the Blues have been booked so often this season is partly because they field one of the youngest squads in the Premier League.
The youth of their players leads to a lack of experience and composure at key moments in the match, which has resulted in borderline situations that have led to red cards.
Of the seven sendings-off in domestic competition involving Robert Sanchez (vs Man Utd), Trevoh Chalobah (vs Brighton), Malo Gusto (vs Nottingham Forest), Moises Caicedo (vs Arsenal), Cucurella (vs Fulham), Wesley Fofana (vs Burnley) and Pedro Neto (vs Arsenal), only the goalkeeper and the Spanish full-back are over 26 years old.
Delap, aged 23, and Joao Pedro, aged 24, round off the list of sendings-off, which clearly highlights the youth of the Blues’ players who have been sent off this season – a team that may well have missed having more experienced players on the pitch this term.