On the day Liam Delap made his first start for Chelsea, Nicolas Jackson’s response was to get himself sent off four minutes after replacing his new rival in the striker department.
Jackson was dismissed on his 24th birthday after a late, studs-up challenge on Flamengo defender Lucas Ayrton at the end of a disastrous six-minute collapse where goals from Bruno Henrique and Danilo cancelled out Pedro Neto’s early strike.
Wallace Yan rounded off the scoring with a late goal as Flamengo beat the Blues 3-1 in the Club World Cup.
It was the least a confident Flamengo, led by former Chelsea defender Felipe Luis, deserved. But the scapegoat will almost certainly be the Senegal international striker.
It was, after all, his second red card in four matches and he is now suspended in two competitions – the Premier League and Club World Cup.
It means Delap will likely start the next match – an important clash against Tunisian side ES Tunis – and the opening game of the Premier League season at home to Crystal Palace.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is anticipating a longer ban as he suspects Jackson’s red card for such reckless foul could rule him out of the competition.
When asked about the sending off, he said: “It happened against Newcastle and today. I am not 100% sure it’s a red card compared to the Newcastle one.
“It’s a little bit of a bad moment for Nico. The red card has nothing to do with Nico’s future… Nico knows in both games it was not good for the team.”
Jackson apologised on Instagram while both defender Marc Cucurella and Maresca revealed the striker said sorry in person to his team-mates after the match.
‘I’m so angry at myself’
Jackson issued a statement on social media less than two hours after the match had finished.
It read: “I want to say sorry. To the club, the staff, my team-mates, and all the fans watching, I let you down.
“Another red card… and honestly, I’m so angry at myself. I work hard every day to help the team not to put us in this kind of situation. I still don’t fully understand how it happened.
“But one thing is clear: it wasn’t intentional. Just a football moment that went the wrong way.
“No excuses. I take full responsibility. I’ll reflect, I’ll grow, and I’ll come back stronger for the badge and for everyone who believes in me. Sorry.”
Chelsea manager Maresca said in his post-match press conference that the red card has no bearing on Jackson’s future.
“Six minutes changed the game,” he said. “In the second half, we started better compared to the first half. But we conceded two goals in two minutes and then the red card. It changed the dynamic. They deserved to win.
“Nico apologised. At Newcastle, we were just 1-0 down and it was in the first half. Today, we were 2-1 down but with half-an-hour left. There was time to play, but with one man down it became all the more difficult.”
One of Jackson’s long-time critics is former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, who featured on the TV broadcast of the game on Dazn.
He said: “[It’s an] unbelievable, stupid, stupid stupid mistake, I don’t know what is going through his head. You come into the game at 2-1 down and your team needs you and he does that.
“He did that at Newcastle, a very important game we needed to win to get to the Champions League. You can’t keep making mistakes. I don’t care what his frustration is, it is massive club, Chelsea Football Club.
“If you are annoyed that Delap is going to be the competition with you, if you are a big player you have to embrace it. We can become successful together as a team.
“Maresca must ask do I still trust this guy or do I stick with the player I brought into the football club, Delap? If he doesn’t trust him then it is time for Delap to start the game.
“It is the competition he is not embracing, he wants to be the only guy in the club. No, healthy competition is important. If he is not ready for it he shouldn’t be at Chelsea Football Club.”
Cucurella defended his team-mate, saying: “He’s very sad. He tried to win the ball, had the bad luck that he kicked his leg and that’s it. He’s a young player with a lot of quality but maybe needs to improve a little bit in these things.
“But he has to learn. After the manager spoke, he said sorry, he didn’t do it on purpose. He’s a very important player for us.”
Could Delap replace Jackson?
Maresca said during the Premier League season that Jackson needs support from another forward and the Blues agreed a £30m fee with Ipswich for Delap just 24 hours after winning the Conference League.
Delap scored 12 goals in 37 games for relegated Ipswich Town but also scored 24 times in Maresca’s league-winning Manchester City Under-23 team in 2021, which also featured both Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia.
Jackson started the 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC in the opening Club World Cup match and delivered an assist. But Delap also set up a goal for Enzo Fernandez on his debut – as the pair battle to impress.
Subsequently, Delap earned his first start against Flamengo but had a quiet game where he received a yellow card. Third striker option Marc Guiu came on after Jackson’s dismissal.
Maresca previously said of the competition for places before his match with LAFC: “I am curious to see how Nico reacts (to Delap). He competed with [Marc] Guiu who is very young during the season. They are both good No9s.
