One of the complaints that Chelsea fans had last season was the indiscipline shown by some players like Nicolas Jackson. Well, it looks like the entire squad has now decided to take up that approach. Whether it be Robert Sanchez against Manchester United, Trevoh Chalobah against Brighton & Hove Albion or Joao Pedro against Benfica, these players seem to be picking up red cards for fun at the moment.
Thankfully, this time around, it did not cost them the win. Chelsea were able to hold on to the win until the end. But on another day, it would have, as we have seen quite a few times recently.
On this occasion, a lot of Chelsea fans do feel that it was the referee who was in the wrong. As one supporter wrote: "The ref got it totally wrong, there was no contact from João Pedro."
Olivia Buzaglo, who is a presenter for the Premier League and Sky Sports, also seems to be of the same view, as she said on the matter: "A red card in three consecutive games, except Joao Pedro doesn’t actually touch the Benfica player."
Chelsea fans unhappy with referee's decision in Benfica game
The bigger issue for Chelsea is that Pedro is the only striker they have at the moment. And even he is not an out-and-out forward, preferring to play somewhere between a number 9 and a number 10.
Also, he has been dealing with fitness issues for a few weeks now. But due to Chelsea's lack of depth in that area of the pitch, Pedro has been playing on a constant basis despite that.
On the other hand, one has to question Enzo Maresca for not even giving a real chance to Marc Guiu since his loan to Sunderland was cut short. The Spaniard might not be a brilliant player at this point but one thing he is known for is his relentless work rate. So, you would imagine that he would be tailor-made to be brought on as a substitute in a game like this, with Chelsea trying to protect the lead. Instead, an unfit Pedro was brought on.