Chelsea are closing in on the unwanted Premier League record held by Leeds… but new maturity following Mauricio Pochettino’s video intervention bodes well for the future

One of Mauricio Pochettino’s methods of improving the maturity of his young Chelsea players this season involved a video session in December. The team were sat at Cobham and shown a number of clips which the manager described as “nonsense” yellow cards.

Naturally, Nicolas Jackson appeared, having picked up seven Premier League bookings to that point, only one of which was deemed understandable for a counter-attack-killing foul against Tottenham. As did Reece James and Raheem Sterling, each booked for needlessly kicking the ball at Newcastle. Enzo Fernandez committed the same minor offense against Brighton, a game in which Conor Gallagher received a second yellow.

Pochettino reminded his players that the Premier League had “changed the rules” – that they would be punished for anything from kicking the ball to blocking free-kicks to complaining to referees to pushing an opponent.

It was a topic discussed in subsequent team meetings as Pochettino tried to ensure that this mentality remained in the squad. Cautions are inevitable in competitive football, they’re told, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to get them from card-happy referees.

To their credit, that message seems to have finally gotten through.

Chelsea are closing in on the Premier League record for most yellow cards in a season

Before a meeting in December, Nicolas Jackson had received seven Premier League warnings of which only one was deemed understandable by the Blues.

Mauricio Pochettino sat the team down and showed them clips of silly yellow cards

Since the start of the year, Chelsea have kept their inappropriate behavior to a minimum. They can still lose control of their emotions – like the way Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke were booked for protesting their disallowed winner late in the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa – but the change in behavior across the team was visible.

Even in the game immediately after Villa – a 2-0 win against Tottenham, which reignited a rivalry on the anniversary of the Battle of the Bridge – they did not receive a single booking. In the 5-0 win against West Ham, only Marc Cucurella was booked for killing a counter.

It’s a marked improvement over the dissent-dominated nature of the first half of the campaign.

And yet, Chelsea are closing in on an unwanted Premier League record after the damage that was largely done at the start of the season. With three games to go, they have 98 yellow cards, just three short of equaling Leeds’ total of 101 in 2021-22.

Pochettino’s players will need to be on their best behavior to avoid becoming the new warning champions, starting with Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.

It won’t be easy at a time when emotions are running high with Chelsea fighting for European football, but Pochettino will feel the maturity shown in the second half of the season bodes well for the future.

Chelsea are just three yellow cards away from Leeds’ record 101 in 2021-22

Since the start of the year, Chelsea have kept their inappropriate behavior on the pitch to a minimum