Enzo Maresca was sent off for celebrating Chelsea’s dramatic win over Liverpool as the Italian had his Jose Mourinho moment at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca was shown a second yellow card after he sprinted the length of the touchline to join in with the celebrations after Estevao scored in the 95th minute against the Premier League champions.
Chelsea had lost their previous two matches in the Premier League, with Maresca facing some pressure ahead of the arrival of Liverpool, but his players battled through an injury crisis to claim a memorable result.
Maresca received his first yellow card appealing for a penalty in the first half, after Alejandro Garnacho went down under the challenge of Dominik Szoboszlai.
He will be suspended from the touchline when Chelsea visit Nottingham Forest after the international break, but Maresca won’t care for now following one of the best results of his time in charge.
Moises Caicedo’s rocket of a shot from outside the box gave Chelsea a first-half lead at Stamford Bridge, before Liverpool survived a penalty scare before the break when Garnacho went down cheaply under the challenge of Szoboszlai.
Liverpool struggled to click in attack, with Mohamed Salah wasting a golden chance after the restart, but Cody Gakpo scrambled in an equaliser from close range following Alexander Isak’s touch in the box.
Despite Chelsea losing both starting centre-backs to injuries, with Josh Acheampong and Benoît Badiashile limping off, Maresca’s side were able to find a dramatic winner. Estevao arrived at the back post to send Stamford Bridge into delirium.
Maresca’s run down the touchline was reminiscent of Jose Mourinho’s infamous celebration at Old Trafford in 2004 while in charge of Porto, the moment where he announced himself on English soil before taking charge of Chelsea and leading them to three Premier League titles.
Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “It’s a brilliant moment for Maresca. He’s sent off but he won’t care about that. What a celebration.”
Jamie Redknapp added: “At 1-1 I thought Maresca would be happy with that point. But he will be so happy with the win. The speed of Maresca running down that touchline – he’s the quickest manager I’ve ever seen!”
“You saw what it meant to Chelsea,” Daniel Sturridge said. “Not just to the players but to the management. Maresca was being questioned, and the start of the season wasn’t ideal.
“They will come out of this game understanding that they’re capable of performances like that – but they need to do it game after game.”
