Conor Gallagher was almost left with a few sleepless nights after his red card against Brighton, but he’s not the only one.
The Blues came away with three points against Brighton at the weekend, but it wasn’t easy, going down to 10-men and narrowly winning 3-2.
Gallagher added to Cheslea’s woes at the weekendGetty
Gallagher, who was captain for the day, saw two yellows in the final 14 minutes of the first half, and Brighton twice fought back for a one-goal deficit in front of a nervy Stamford Bridge.
The red was Chelsea’s third of the season, and there were more yellows to come, with Roberto Sanchez, Enzo Fernandez and Benoit Badiashile all making their way into Craig Pawson’s notebook.
That boosted Chelsea’s total for the season to 47, the most in the top flight ahead of Wolves on 43.
In fact, Europe wide the picture only gets worse, with the Blue’s total number of combined cards, 50, only behind LaLiga sides Getafe (66) and Cadiz (54).
That makes Mauricio Pochettino’s team the third-dirtiest in Europe’s big five leagues, with two key players already suspended for the home tie against the Seagulls.
Reece James saw red during a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle for two bookable offences, while Marc Cucurella had to serve a ban for picking up five yellow cards in just seven appearances.
He’s not the first either, with Nicolas Jackson already forced onto the sidelines with five yellows, and he’s not far off another ban, taking his total up to seven in only 13 games.
The team’s other red came courtesy of Malo Gusto against Aston Villa in September, planting his studs into Lucas Digne’s ankle and earning a three game ban.
James and Gusto have also seen redGetty
Chelsea are England’s most ill-disciplined club
Like James, that red resulted in another embarrassing defeat, 1-0 at home, so at least Gallagher can comfort himself with three points despite his transgression at the weekend.
