Sunday's blockbuster from the Premier League between Arsenal and Chelsea delivered the two most predictable things. The Gunners ultimately prevailed 2-1, with both of their goals coming via corners, ultimately scored by William Saliba and then Jurriën Timber.
For Liam Rosenior's side in the meantime, their hopes of a late equaliser were not helped by a red card shown to Pedro Neto 20 minutes from time. Having been cautioned for his protestations following Timber's header less than three minutes earlier, the Portuguese winger hacked down a counter-attacking Gabriel Martinelli by the touchline and was shown a second caution by referee Darren England. This, amazingly, is Chelsea's ninth red card of the season, with three months still to go.
List of Chelsea's red cards in 2025/26
- 20 September. Robert Sánchez. 5th minute. Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea.
- 27 September. Trevoh Chalobah. 53rd minute. Chelsea 1-3 Brighton.
- 30 September. João Pedro. 96th minute. Chelsea 1-0 Benfica (UCL).
- 18 October. Malo Gusto. 87th minute. Nottingham Forest 0-3 Chelsea.
- 29 October. Liam Delap. 86th minute. Wolves 3-4 Chelsea (EFL Cup).
- 30 November. Moisés Caicedo. 38th minute. Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal.
- 7 January. Marc Cucurella. 22nd minute. Fulham 2-1 Chelsea.
- 21 February. Wesley Fofana. 72nd minute. Chelsea 1-1 Burnley.
- 1 March. Pedro Neto. 70th minute. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea.
This tally of nine red cards does not even include the one shown to then manager Enzo Maresca after his José Mourinho-esque run down the touchline celebration Estêvão Willian's winner against Liverpool in October.
Even setting that aside, mind bogglingly, nine different Chelsea players have been responsible for their nine red cards this season. Well, with, at a minimum, 13 matches still to be played this season, they'll surely break the record.
Most red cards collected by a Premier League team (all competitions)
Teams | Season | Red cards | PL finish |
|---|---|---|---|
Sunderland | 2008/09 | 9 | 13th |
Queens Park Rangers | 2008/09 | 9 | 17th |
Chelsea | 2025/26 | 9 | TBC |
Sunderland | 2013/14 | 8 | 14th |
Newcastle United | 2008/09 | 8 | 18th |
West Ham United | 1999/00 | 8 | 9th |
Blackburn Rovers | 1998/99 | 8 | 19th |
Leicester City | 1994/95 | 8 | 21st |
Since the Premier League was formed, only eight clubs have collected eight or more red cards, across all competitions, in a single campaign. Of these, Newcastle, Blackburn and Leicester were all relegated, while Sunderland and QPR barely survived. The highest finishers of any of these teams is West Ham, coming ninth in 2000, underlining that Chelsea are a serious outlier.
The Blues have now matched the tally of nine held by Sunderland and QPR, very much likely to smash that number, potentially even surpassing it as soon as Wednesday night when they travel to Villa Park.
According to Statmuse, across Europe's top five leagues, Real Zaragoza are the team who've been shown the most red cards in a season, accumulating a staggering 19 throughout 1996/97 with no European competition, still finishing 14th in La Liga. While the Blues are unlikely to match los Blanquillos' record, although that's far from a guarantee, this issue is seriously derailing Rosenior's team and could lead to them missing out on both silverware and a top five finish.