Chelsea and Bournemouth have set a forgettable record for the number of yellow cards in a Premier League match.
Referee Anthony Taylor issued 14 yellow cards to Chelsea and Bournemouth players – Photo: REUTERS
Referee Anthony Taylor gave home team Bournemouth 6 yellow cards while Chelsea received 8 cards.
In the early morning of September 15, Christopher Nkunku came off the bench and scored the only goal to help Chelsea win 1-0 in round 4 of the Premier League.
Card record
Jadon Sancho also shone on his Blues debut with an assist for Nkunku. But he could not escape a yellow card from referee Anthony Taylor .
Taylor has been tough on refereeing, with both coaches Andoni Iraola and Enzo Maresca being shown yellow cards.
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was the most memorable yellow card of the match, after rushing out and fouling striker Evanilson in the penalty area.
Sanchez was made to pay for a careless back pass from Wesley Fofana and it was an unanswerable penalty, although he made amends by saving the spot-kick.
Jadon Sancho (left) also could not “escape the card” before Mr. Taylor – Photo: REUTERS
Joao Felix came on as a substitute and fouled Alex Scott in midfield, bringing the total number of yellow cards to 13. Antoine Semenyo then received the 14th yellow card to make this match into Premier League history.
The previous record was 13 yellow cards, set in September 2023 when Tottenham beat Sheffield United 2-1 at home.
List of matches with the most yellow cards in Premier League history – Photo: The Sun
Coach Maresca explains the reason for many penalty cards
After the match, Chelsea coach Maresca explained why he received a yellow card and many players received yellow cards in this match:
“I was cautioned by the referee for reacting after Fofana was fouled by an opposing player. It was a clear foul but I had no comment.
A lot of cards were given out and they all stemmed from physical confrontations between players. This is necessary in a tense match like this. I don’t see any problem with those cards.”
Coach Maresca’s team ended a streak of 17 consecutive away matches without a clean sheet, despite allowing Bournemouth many dangerous opportunities.
The win moved Chelsea up to seventh in the Premier League table while Bournemouth dropped to 11th after their first defeat of the season.