Maresca: We were already off balance before the substitution. I told Delap four or five times to calm down.

After defeating Wolves 4-3 in the League Cup, Chelsea coach Maresca said at a press conference that the team had lost its balance before the substitutions in the second half.

You must be satisfied with the first half, but are you surprised by the second half?

- Indeed, I completely agree with you. I was very happy in the first half and very frustrated in the second half. This is my analysis and personal opinion of the game, I think we performed very well in the first half and scoring three goals away from home is always difficult. Our offense was very fluid and created good chances.

We didn't concede a goal, but we didn't do what we should have done in the second half. Maybe conceding the first goal opened the game up a bit and gave them momentum and energy to fight back. Then we conceded three goals, which I think were avoidable. And we also had a very stupid and completely unnecessary red card today.

Do you think there is something wrong with the red card?

- No problem, that was a stupid foul and we could have avoided that.

What did you say to Delap after the game?

- No, not to him alone, but to everyone. I completely understand that it would be a difficult situation to get a red card in that situation against Brighton or Manchester United, but against Nottingham Forest and today we can avoid red cards and we have to avoid that.

Are Chelsea's disciplinary issues a little bad?

- Yeah, a red card like today is really embarrassing because a player got two yellow cards in five or ten minutes, I don't know, maybe seven minutes. Both yellow cards were avoidable, so that's not a good thing.

When Delap got the first yellow card, did you tell him to calm down?

- Yes, after he got the yellow card, I told him four or five times to keep calm. But Delap is a guy who can get so wrapped up in his own game on the court that he has a hard time realizing and following the advice around him.

Are you also a little disappointed that you replaced so many experienced players in the second half, but still couldn't control the situation?

- We lost the balance of the game even before the substitution. So it’s very difficult for players coming off the bench to adjust. But when we led 3-0 in the first half, the game was completely under our control. However, after conceding the first goal, we were a bit panicked. But this team and this lineup need to grow, gain experience, and become better and better.