LONDON, Nov 30 : When Chelsea's Moises Caicedo was sent off against Arsenal 38 minutes into their London derby on Sunday, it was a familiar dilemma for Enzo Maresca's side who have now been reduced to 10 men on six occasions in all competitions this season.
The four red cards for Chelsea players in the Premier League are the most for the west London club at this stage of a campaign, and the figure is double that of any other team.
Fortunately for Maresca, the previous three league dismissals - which led to two defeats for the Blues - seem to have taught his young players how to adapt.
They were not ruffled by the loss of Caicedo for landing his boot on Mikel Merino's ankle.
Maresca - who himself was sent off in October for celebrating a late winner for Chelsea against Liverpool too wildly - said his message to his players was clear in the dressing room at the break.
"I told them at halftime you need to double the effort and they were outstanding," he told reporters.
Chelsea even managed to open the scoring three minutes after the restart when Trevoh Chalobah met a Reece James corner and flicked a header past Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
When Merino equalised in the 59th minute by converting a Bukayo Saka cross, most fans at Stamford Bridge would probably have expected the visitors to go on and make their numerical advantage count.
Mikel Arteta brought on fresh firepower with Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres coming off the bench with about 20 minutes to go. But the Gunners seriously threatened only once more when Merino's shot was saved by Robert Sanchez in the 88th minute.
The draw means Arsenal's lead at the top is cut to five points ahead of Manchester City who are on 25. Chelsea sit third on 24.
Maresca, pressed by
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