In the 2023-2024 season, Chelsea set a Premier League record for the most yellow cards in a season. When Malo Gusto received a yellow card in the 78th minute of the final match against Bournemouth, the Blues' yellow card tally reached 105 (including 4 red cards), surpassing Leeds' previous record of 101 in the 2021-2022 season. The London side have only gone two games without a card (against Man United and Tottenham).
These worrying figures were recorded under Mauricio Pochettino but the situation does not seem to have improved under Enzo Maresca. Chelsea are currently top of the yellow card charts, with 21 cards in six games (an average of 3.5 cards per game). If this continues, the Stamford Bridge side could end the season with 133 cards. This statistic also puts them fourth in Europe's top leagues.
Chelsea's yellow cards this season may have increased dramatically due to the match against Bournemouth, when referee Anthony Taylor gave the Blues 8 yellow cards. This confrontation has a total of 14 yellow cards, a record for the Premier League.
While some of his actions may have been unjustly punished, there have been cases where Taylor was forced to apply the law. Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho were punished for reacting to the referee, while Renato Veiga was carded for jumping into the stands to celebrate Christopher Nkunku's late goal. Since the beginning of the season, Chelsea have always had at least 1 player receive a yellow card in each match.
I dont think it is a disciplinary issue. Against Bournemouth, you have to make mistakes sometimes. I don't think it's a big deal. The next day, when I looked back at the games against Arsenal and Tottenham, I thought there were 7 or 8 yellow cards in the first half. So the ratio was the same there.
Did I talk to the players about this issue? No! It was a normal game and some yellow cards could have been avoided by the referee. But he decided differently, said Enzo Maresca.
Maresca's views have received a lot of sympathy from fans, who do not hesitate to express their disappointment every time Anthony Taylor honks a Chelsea match. However, The Blues did not reach such a large number of yellow cards just because of a strict referee. They need to look at themselves.
As Maresca admits, in a fast, fierce and competitive sport, fouls are inevitable. Sometimes, yellow cards are the result, but the team at Stamford Bridge also made many unnecessary mistakes.
Notably, Chelsea have received 23 yellow cards for reacting to referees, with 5 cards this season. They are not a team that is too strong physically. Maresca's army committed an average of 10.5 fouls per game. Only Brighton, Man City and Brentford have fewer.
Their average tackles are also just 16.7 per game, ranking 16th in the Premier League. This shows that the London team received more yellow cards than they needed than the way they played.
Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana, two pillars of Chelsea's defense, received 4 yellow cards. According to Premier League rules, players will be suspended for 1 match if they receive 5 cards in their first 19 matches. They will be suspended for 2 matches if they receive 10 cards in 32 matches and 3 matches if they reach 15 cards before the end of the season.
Nicolas Jackson is a typical example of avoiding trouble when controlling himself. The striker was one of Chelsea's most fouled players last season with 9 yellow cards in the first 24 matches. However, he has since gone through 11 Premier League games (15 in all competitions) without further penalties, avoiding a two-match suspension.
Enzo Maresca was modest when asked whether Chelsea could challenge for the title. He said that the team still has many improvements in both attack and defense. In addition, perhaps reducing the number of yellow cards should also be on that list.
