Chelsea’s lineup is looking formidable on paper, with key players enhancing their on-field presence. Robert Sanchez stands firm as the first-choice goalkeeper, while Moises Caicedo’s brilliance shines in the midfield. On the left wing, Marc Cucurella’s tenacity is unmatched, and Enzo Maresca remains a fan favorite in the managerial dreams of many Chelsea supporters.

However, this ideal lineup may never materialize, as it highlights one of Chelsea’s most significant challenges. Beyond the seven red cards issued to players, former manager Maresca himself was dismissed from the sidelines, setting a troubling precedent for the developing team.

Disciplinary issues are becoming a thorn in Chelsea’s side. The team has been forced to play with ten men in five Premier League matches, winning only one of these encounters against a struggling Nottingham Forest, who currently sit in 17th place.

Cucurella’s red card during the match against Fulham was especially damaging, striking the team during a dismal winter period. A victory over their west London rivals could have catapulted them to fourth place, provided other results were favorable. Instead, Chelsea finds themselves in seventh position, a less-than-ideal start for new manager Liam Rosenior.

For Chelsea, the lack of discipline within the squad is starting to bite. The Blues have played five Premier League matches with 10 men, and won only one of them, against 17th-placed Nottingham Forest. 

Marc Cucurella was the latest player to be sent off for Chelsea this season but a flash of red from a referee’s pocket is an all too familiar sight for the side

Cucurella’s sending-off against Fulham came at a particularly punishing time for the side, amid a woeful winter where a win against their west London rivals might have left them as high as fourth had other results gone their way. Instead, the team have dropped to seventh – hardly an auspicious welcome for new manager Liam Rosenior. 

It also puts the Blues out of sight at the top of the Premier League’s unfair play table. Using Transfermarkt’s metric of one point awarded for a yellow, three for a second yellow, and five for a straight red card, Chelsea have accrued a whopping 69 bad-behaviour points at the midpoint of the season. 

The Club World Cup winners have earned 46 yellow cards for unruliness on the pitch, with one of those upgraded with a second yellow, as well as four straight reds in league action. 

Their closest rival in the standings is their derby foe Tottenham, who are some way off with 59 points. 

Only Everton can close with three red cards this season – although two of those were earned on Wednesday night, in their helter-skelter clash with Wolves which saw them reduced to nine men following the sending-off of Michael Keane and Jack Grealish. 

Chelsea’s tally makes their the joint dirtiest team across Europe’s top five domestic leagues, tying with Roman bad boys Lazio. 

The Serie A side have picked up an eye-popping seven red cards this season, with six being shown immediately, and one second yellow earned for a second offence. 

Only LaLiga side Real Oviedo have accrued more red cards during the campaign, with seven of their players picking up eight reds in just six months. 

Lazio, who are level with Chelsea in the bad-behaviour standings picked up two red cards in a single game against Napoli last Sunday

Joint-third in the standings are Seville and Monaco, who have both earned 63 points – the highest in LaLiga and Ligue 1 respectively. Seville however have earned most of their points through yellow cards however, with 55 earned, while Monaco are level on red cards with Chelsea and five to their name. 

Spurs make the top 20 in joint-seventh place with 59 points picked up, the same number as Rayo Vallecano, with the Premier League the second most-represented league in the European-wide list with six teams making the cut. 

Joining the list are Bournemouth, Brighton, Wolves, and Sunderland, with the Seagulls the biggest hoarder of yellow cards by some measure, with 55 earned by their players in league action thus far.  

LaLiga could be deemed the dirtiest league in Europe, with eight teams inside the top 20, their red card tally totalling 32 between them.  

Referees seem unwilling to hand out cards – or players particularly motivated by fair play – in Germany, with only one Bundesliga side making the cut for the top 20, Mainz.  

The German team has been handed a comparatively paltry 34 yellow cards, but a persuasive five red cards. 

With this ignominious honour looming over Chelsea as they keep up their pursuit of Champions League football next season, they will be keen to fix their situation and fast . 

But in hiring Rosenior, they may not have found the magic solution. 

Although the former Hull City manager is well-known as a clear and considerate manager, and was keen to stress the importance of ‘unity and teamwork’ in his first press conference after he was announced at head coach, his record this season is imperfect. 

Strasbourg are the joint-20th dirtiest team in European football, with 51 disciplinary points to their name, and trail Chelsea only slightly with four red cards picked. 

Like Chelsea, this issue could be placed in part at the feet of the relative youth of the squad, with Strasbourg similarly invested in developing young players – who in turn, like Rosenior, could end up at Stamford Bridge. 

But as with his predecessor Maresca, Rosenior’s own temper might do little to cool rising tensions on matchday. 

The London-born manager was a figure of fire as he clashed with officials during Strasbourg’s home defeat to Marseille in September, with footage catching the new Chelsea head coach calling an official a ‘f***ing s***house’ who had made a ‘f***ing s***house decision’. 

CONTENT WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE USED IN THE VIDEO BELOW 

New manager Liam Rosenior himself has a temper on the touchlines, as he showed this season

The incoming Blues head coach directed his ire at both the referees and seemingly opposite number Roberto De Zerbi during a clash with Marseille

Rosenior was also heard telling someone not captured to ‘f*** off’ after he called Chelsea loanee Ben Chilwell to his side to offer some in-game advice. 

The 41-year-old is thought to have been accusing the referee of biased decisions in the match, and had to calmed by the fourth official to present escalation. 

Rosenior then was swept up in a row in the direction of Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi, who he told to ‘f***ing sit down’ and levied the accusation at him that he ‘(did) this every week’, telling him too to ‘f*** off’. 

The new manager might have the firepower and passion to tempt Chelsea fans onto his side from the off. But whether he has the solution to their discipline issues is another matter.