Furious Enzo Maresca’s two-word message to Liam Delap moments before Chelsea red card

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was left fuming after Liam Delap was sent off in the Carabao Cup victory over Wolves

Enzo Maresca told Liam Delap to “keep calm” moments before the Chelsea star’s “stupid” and “embarrassing” red card during the Carabao Cup triumph over Wolves.

Delap saw red in the 4-3 victory at Molineux after collecting two yellow cards within seven minutes of entering the pitch as a substitute for his first outing since August.

His opening caution came for grappling Yerson Mosquera to the turf, whilst his second followed a rash aerial challenge on Emmanuel Agbadou.

The dismissal marked Chelsea’s sixth sending-off in nine matches this campaign, leaving the Italian boss frustrated with his forward, who will now be unavailable for the weekend fixture against Tottenham.

“For today we have a very a stupid red card, that was completely unnecessary, absolute it was a stupid foul, we can avoid that,” Maresca said.

“I completely support and understand the red card like against Brighton and Manchester United that is difficult, but the red card against Nottingham and a red card today we can avoid that and we have to avoid that. It’s embarrassing when it is a red card like today. It’s embarrassing, two yellow cards in seven minutes. Both I think we can avoid.

“After the first yellow card I told him to four or five times ‘keep calm’, but he’s a player when he is inside the pitch, probably he is playing the game for himself and he struggled to realise and to listen around him.”

The dismissal overshadowed what was otherwise an entertaining encounter at Molineux, where Chelsea withstood a determined second-half comeback from Wolves. Goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and Estevao handed the London side a commanding 3-0 advantage at the break, and a torrid campaign for Wolves appeared set to reach fresh lows.

Yet the second period told an entirely different story as Tolu Arokodare and David Moller Wolfe put Chelsea under immense pressure, though Jamie Gittens’ strike in the 90th minute looked to have sealed Chelsea’s progression.

Wolfe then grabbed his second moments afterwards as Wolves continued to press forward – but the equaliser remained elusive as Chelsea advanced to the quarter-finals.

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Wolves manager Vitor Pereira was involved in exchanges with supporters following Saturday’s Premier League loss to Burnley, yet his team received applause as they left the pitch.

The Portuguese boss, who continues to face scrutiny after fans called for his dismissal when trailing 3-0, is convinced the second-half display can serve as a template for Wolves to thrive.

“We showed to ourselves and to the supporters that together we can do it again. We just need a win to believe and to move on. That definitely was seen in the second half.

“This season, we are fighting and fighting and fighting. Of course, we need to look for the second half and to understand what we can do. This is what we can do in this league. We can compete with Chelsea.

“We can compete with every team. If we play like this, we can compete with them, with confidence, with energy, with (the) energy of our supporters. We can do it. We are a small club, but we can do it together.”