Enzo Maresca admitted he was left red-faced by Chelsea's latest sending-off as their alarming trend of collecting red cards persisted with Liam Delap becoming the latest culprit to see red. The dismissal nearly proved damaging but the Blues managed to edge past Wolves 4-3 at Molineux on what marked Delap's comeback from injury, though the match didn't unfold as hoped.

The summer recruit entered the fray as a second-half replacement only to collect two bookings within seven minutes. This left Chelsea reduced to 10 men, a familiar scenario they've encountered this campaign. Maresca branded Delap's behaviour as selfish, with their woeful disciplinary record showing no signs of improvement.

Maresca made it crystal clear to the former Ipswich striker that he needed to keep his composure after receiving his initial caution, but his words evidently went unheeded.

He said: "We had a very stupid red card that was completely unnecessary, and was absolutely deserved. We can avoid red cards like these and we have to avoid them. When it's a red card like today, it's embarrassing. There were two yellow cards in seven minutes, both avoidable. It's no good. After the yellow card, I told him (Delap) 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."

Delap has since turned to social media to acknowledge his mistake and said: "I take full responsibility for my actions. I will behave next time."

Maresca has altered his stance from last month when he dismissed their series of red cards as not indicative of a disciplinary issue, as he analysed each incident. In just 10 days, they had three players sent off, and on two of those occasions, they suffered defeat.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was shown the red card in the opening minutes at Manchester United, which allowed the Red Devils to seize control and win the match. A week later, Trevoh Chalobah was sent off in a home loss to Brighton.

Three days later, Joao Pedro was given his marching orders for two yellow cards against Benfica in the Champions League. That occurred late in the game, but the west Londoners managed to maintain their lead.

Most recently, Malo Gusto was sent off in the victory over Nottingham Forest.