Maresca snaps at reporter over Chelsea red-card record ahead of Brighton clash

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca bristled at a reporter during his pre-match press conference on Friday when challenged over the disciplinary record of his former club Chelsea, telling the journalist: “You lack information.”

The exchange was prompted by Chelsea’s ongoing struggles with red cards, most recently Cole Palmer’s dismissal in last Saturday’s defeat to Tottenham. The reporter drew a line back to Maresca’s own time at Stamford Bridge, where his side collected six red cards in just over two months between September and November before he departed on New Year’s Day.

When asked whether discipline had been an issue during his Chelsea tenure, Maresca interrupted to draw a distinction between his time in charge and the period after he left. “When I was there or when I left?” he asked. When the reporter clarified “when you were there”, Maresca replied: “When I left. You lack information. When I was there… when I left.”

He then flatly denied it was a problem: “I don’t think so.”

The statistics, however, broadly support the reporter’s premise. Chelsea conceded six red cards while Maresca was in charge and only four after his departure — making his tenure the more ill-disciplined of the two periods.

The question carried added relevance given Maresca’s own decisions at City. In last week’s match against Aston Villa, he substituted both Marc Guehi and Rayan Cherki at half-time while each was carrying a yellow card — a cautious move that drew scrutiny of his management of disciplinary risk.

On a more positive note, Maresca confirmed that his squad is almost fully fit for Saturday’s home fixture against third-placed Brighton, with Antoine Semenyo the only absentee.

Reflecting on his four months at the Etihad — a period overshadowed by the club’s appeal against 114 guilty verdicts for breaching financial rules — Maresca offered a measured assessment of progress. “We’re going in the right direction,” he said. “After so many years, to change the manager, many players, it always takes time to compete again. I think, in this moment, we are competing in all competitions and we know that it takes time.”