On Saturday, they were 1-0 up and cruising at home to Burnley, João Pedro scoring, only for Wesley Fofana's red card to change the game, with Zian Flemming then snatching a point for the Clarets deep into injury time. This is Chelsea's ninth red card of the campaign across all competitions, if you include the one shown to manager Enzo Maresca.
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).
- 4 October. Enzo Maresca. 97th minute. Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool.
- 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
Amazingly, all nine of Chelsea's red cards have been shown to different individuals, so who will it be next? In the six Premier League fixtures they've been reduced to ten men, the Blues have won only once, collecting a miserly five points, so who knows where they could be without this ill-disciplined. This is clearly an issue Rosenior is yet to solve, but will it be record-breaking?
How many more red cards do Chelsea require to make history?
With 11 Premier League matches remaining, Chelsea travel to Arsenal next, while they'll also face Aston Villa, Newcastle, both Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Tottenham between now and May. So, plenty of opportunties to add to their red card count, chasing down the all-time record.
Clubs with most red cards in a Premier League season
Clubs | Season | Red card count | League finish |
|---|---|---|---|
Sunderland | 2009/10 | 9 | 13th |
Queens Park Rangers | 2011/12 | 9 | 17th |
Blackburn Rovers | 1998/99 | 8 | 19th |
West Ham United | 1999/00 | 8 | 9th |
Newcastle United | 2008/09 | 8 | 18th |
Leicester City | 1994/95 | 7 | 21st |
Wimbledon | 1995/96 | 7 | 14th |
Arsenal | 1998/99 | 7 | 2nd |
Bolton Wanderers | 2001/02 | 7 | 16th |
Middlesbrough | 2001/02 | 7 | 12th |
Everton | 2002/03 | 7 | 7th |
Fulham | 2004/05 | 7 | 13th |
Everton | 2005/06 | 7 | 11th |
Birmingham City | 2005/06 | 7 | 18th |
West Brom | 2011/11 | 7 | 11th |
Sunderland | 2013/14 | 7 | 14th |
Aston Villa | 2014/15 | 7 | 17th |
Newcastle United | 2014/15 | 7 | 15th |
Burnley | 2023/24 | 7 | 19th |
Chelsea | 2025/26 | 6 | TBC |
23 other clubs | N/A | 6 | N/A |
In total, 23 clubs have previously picked up exactly six red cards in a Premier League season, so in that regard Chelsea are not special. Not yet anyway. Meantime, 14 have accumulated exactly seven dismissals, but a mere five have picked up eight or more.
Both Newcastle in 2009 and Blackburn a decade earlier were relegated, partially as a result of being shown eight red cards, while Sunderland in 2010 and QPR two seasons later hold the single-season record with nine.
Well, with 29% of their fixtures still to play, including plenty against rivals, both historic and within the confines of the table, you would not back against Chelsea reaching nine or perhaps even ten. Only two teams, Arsenal in '99 and Everton in '03, have ever finished seventh or higher despite seven or more red cards being collected by their players, underling that this is certainly hampering Chelsea's top five chances.