Enzo Maresca insists he likes the spirit of his Chelsea team after their indiscipline was on show again in a feisty 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella both picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season and will miss Chelsea’s trip to Anfield to face Liverpool after the October international break, while Nicolas Jackson could face retrospective action from the Football Association (FA) for thrusting his hand into the face of Forest defender Morato during a mass brawl.
The furious altercation was sparked by Levi Colwill squaring up to Neco Williams in the 89th minute after the Wales international pushed Cucurella into Maresca in the home technical area, knocking Chelsea’s head coach to the floor.
Both teams missed glorious chances to win the match in 13 minutes of additional time, but goals from Chris Wood and Noni Madueke ultimately ensured a share of the points.
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“These things can happen,” Maresca said of the mass brawl. “In terms of emotion, the team is fighting altogether and I don’t think some of them lose their heads. They were, all of them, in the game. I was happy with that.”
Asked more specifically about Jackson – who had been substituted by that stage, but left his place on the bench to join in the fray – Maresca added: “In that moment, I think not only Nicolas was inside the pitch. If you look, more players from the bench were inside the pitch.
“If you ask me if I prefer when something like that happens, players from outside involved or not, I like the spirit of the team. I like the spirit of our team. I don’t see any problem.”
Fofana and Cucurella are the first players in the Premier League to reach five yellow cards in 2024-25, having reached the threshold for a one-match suspension in just seven appearances.
“It’s something we need to improve but overall, I like the team the way they are fighting,” Maresca said. “I like the way they are becoming a team in these kinds of things. I don’t see any problems about that.”
Colwill appeared to be in physical discomfort when he was substituted late in the game while Noni Madueke left the mass altercation limping heavily with the help of Chelsea staff, but Maresca was keen to play down fears of a significant injury absence for either player.
“I think they were both okay when they went inside,” he said. “I have not seen them but I think they are okay.”
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(Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)
