Chelsea handed devastating suspension blow as duo to miss Liverpool clash after mass brawl

Chelsea’s awful 1-1 draw with ten men Two of Nottingham Forest’s stars will now be sidelined for their trip to Liverpool following the international break, dealing Enzo Maresca yet another double blow.

Battling Chelsea has just played seven Premier League games, but already two of their players have received five yellow cards. Up until and including matchweek 19, earning five yellows will result in a one-match penalty.

With 78 minutes played and no cautions, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella were both walking the tightrope of suspension going into the match against Forest, but they were headed for a clean out.

But with the game on the verge of elimination due to James Ward-Prowse’s two yellow cards, Cucurella found himself at the center of a major brawl.

Neco Williams shoved the Spanish defender into Maresca. Levi Colwill spearheaded the protests, charging to the touchline to face Williams, which sparked a brawl involving other players and coaches.

Even though Cucurella had been shoved by Williams, he was confused when he got back up to see that referee Chris Kavanagh had given him a yellow card. Along with Colwill and the Welsh defender receiving bookings, Cucurella’s ban was officially announced.

Shortly after, Fofana was booked by the referee for a foul on Jota Silva, a substitute who had broken free from Chelsea’s defense and required a tackle from the Frenchman.

Maresca was immediately shown a yellow card, and not only did he go without the three points Forest had anticipated at home, but he also faced a significant challenge when Chelsea visited Anfield the following week.

With a series of deft saves in the closing minutes of the game, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez kept Chelsea in the game. However, he later stated that players will speak to prevent unnecessary fouls in the future.

“We need to talk about it in the changing room, but a few players will miss games because of it,” Sanchez stated. “We had opportunities and deserved more, but we couldn’t score the goal to win the game.”

“Big guys, but bad luck struck. They must cease conversing with the officials. We have a few excellent guys on the roster.

Maresca himself continued, saying, “I’ve said it a lot—we need to get better at it. I enjoy how the team is coming together and fighting as a one.”

Six Chelsea players received bookings on Sunday; the club will be fined £25,000 for each of Cucurella and Fofana. This season, the Blues have been penalized twice for having multiple players receive yellow cards.