Chelsea’s difficult start to the 2025–26 Premier League season continued with a 2-1 loss to Manchester United the weekend before, largely due to Robert Sanchez’s mistake that resulted in a red card after five minutes. And it has been made clear why the Football Association (FA) fined the title-chasing Blues, who are led by Enzo Maresca, £25,000.
In the fifth minute of their loss at Old Trafford, Sanchez ran out and hacked down Bryan Mbeumo. Nine minutes later, Bruno Fernandes gave the home team the lead, and eight minutes before halftime, Casemiro doubled it. The Brazilian midfielder was then given a second yellow card and had to limp down the tunnel ahead of schedule.
It gave Chelsea, the reigning winners of the Europa Conference League, a sliver of optimism when they returned for the second half – and, although Trevoh Chalobah scored with a header in the 80th minute, the English defender’s goal was simply a consolation. However, given they accept that they lost to a struggling United team, why has the FA fined them £25,000?
Below, you can view the highlights of Chelsea’s 2-1 loss against Manchester United:
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Why Chelsea Have Been Fined £25,000 for Man Utd Loss
Considering how vulnerable United has been since 2025–2026 began, members of the Stamford Bridge inclination, from players to supporters, would have been irritated at leaving the northwest city empty-handed. It was a completely crazy battle from beginning to end. Knowing that they’ve also burned a hole in their pocket the size of £25,000 will have added to that discomfort.
The match’s lack of discipline was made even worse by Manchester’s rainy conditions on Saturday. As previously said, Casemiro gave United two yellow cards during the match, but the defeated West Londoners received a stunning six: Tyrique George, Chalobah, Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella, and Tosin Adarabioyo were all cautioned.
Referee Peter Bankes also gave Maresca, who is considered to be among the top managers in international football, a yellow card. Naturally, that came after their goalie received a straight red card for foul play.
According to the Daily Mail, the FA fined Maresca’s team £25,000 for exceeding the six-card threshold set by the football governing body. However, Chelsea has previously been penalised financially for their lack of discipline during a Premier League match.
They were fined £25,000 for their eight cards against Bournemouth on September 14 of last season; after their six yellows against Nottingham Forest the following month, the fine was increased to £50,000. On October 27, they were also hit with a £75,000 punishment for receiving six yellow cards against Newcastle United.
As they topped the lists in 2023–2024 and 2024–2025, Chelsea has historically been one of the Premier League’s worst offenders when it comes to receiving yellow cards, at least in the last two seasons. They have now picked up 12 yellow cards in five games, two more than Bournemouth, who are presently at the top of the yellow card standings.
Days after defeating Lincoln City 2-1 to advance to the second round of the League Cup, the west Londoners will now host Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge. When the two teams face off in the Champions League, Jose Mourinho will return with his Benfica team to west London in an attempt to win three points.
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