Chelsea must improve in their game management and deal with stressful situations better, after Marc Cucurella was sent off late in their 2-1 win against Brentford, with manager Enzo Maresca not satisfied with his side’s conclusion of the league contest.
Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson each netted for the Blues, who secured their fifth successive league triumph to bride the gap to leaders Liverpool to two points.
However, Chelsea were on the receiving end of a late goal against their London rivals as Cucurella was shown a second yellow card after his altercation with forward Kevin Schade for “adopting an aggressive attitude”.
Maresca’s charges top the discipline rankings this term with 50 yellow cards in the league.
“For sure the goal we concede, and the last part of the game, it is something we need to manage better,” Maresca said.
“I think it’s experience for the players to learn and to improve things.
“But overall, with the spirit of the team, we know that sometimes it can happen. With the second [yellow] one, it’s probably not the correct thing to do, but these are things we need to improve.”
The Italian lauded Cucurella’s contribution against Brentford both in and out of possession.
“Cucurella was top on and off the ball… together with the other 10 [players], they were fantastic. We are happy, delighted with Marc’s performance.”
Maresca also confirmed Romeo Lavia is expected to return from injury for next Sunday’s trip to Everton while Joao Felix will also be available for their Conference League match against Shamrock Rovers on Thursday.
Defender Benoit Badiashile is likely to be out with an injury sustained in training.
