Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca engaged in a sharp exchange with a journalist on Friday, strongly rejecting claims that ill-discipline was a major issue during his tenure at Chelsea. Ahead of a home match against Brighton, the Italian tactician pushed back against scrutiny over his record in west London, telling a reporter they lacked information when asked whether dismissals had been a serious problem for his previous team.
Discipline has emerged as a talking point at Manchester City, where Maresca's players have collected 22 cards in 14 fixtures across all competitions this season. In Wednesday's Carabao Cup win over Brighton, Ayyoub Bouaddi picked up a 32nd-minute yellow card before being replaced at the break. That substitution mirrored events from Saturday's Premier League defeat at Aston Villa, where both Marc Guehi and Rayan Cherki were withdrawn for the second half after first-half bookings. Maresca defended his actions during his press conference, clarifying: "Sometimes it has been because I didn't like what I saw, so I changed."
When questioned whether red cards had been an issue during his time with Chelsea last term, Maresca interrupted to point out that dismissals occurred "when I was there, and when I left," telling the reporter: "You lack information. When I was there, and when I left." During his 28 matches in charge before parting ways with the club, Chelsea had six red cards shown to Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah, Joao Pedro, Malo Gusto, Liam Delap, and Moises Caicedo. Following his New Year's Day exit, Chelsea received four further reds across 29 matches—with Marc Cucurella, Pedro Neto, and Wesley Fofana twice being sent off under interim boss Calum McFarlane and a brief stint under Liam Rosenior—bringing their season tally to 10 red cards, eight in the Premier League.
When asked if he truly believed red cards were not an issue, Maresca concluded, "I don't think so," before switching focus. The exchange highlights lingering friction following his departure from Chelsea, who previously released a pointed statement without mentioning Maresca by name when he was named City boss. The London club stated that their former head coach disrupted their season by revealing a desire to succeed Pep Guardiola in the autumn before resigning at the end of the year.