Struggling Nicolas Jackson banned from next game as Chelsea woes continue

Nicolas Jackson will be banned for Chelsea's next match after picking up his fifth booking in six games.

The 22-year-old striker saw yellow against Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (September 24). Australian referee Jarred Gillett brandished the card for dissent – which is shockingly what all of Jackson's other yellows have been for.

The only Premier League game he hasn't been booked in this season was the 3-0 win against Luton Town last month, in which he scored his solitary Blues goal to date. And he'll now be suspended for their trip to local rivals Fulham next week.

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Mauricio Pochettino will also be without right-back Malo Gusto – who saw red for a challenge on Villa's Lucas Digne. After the second-half sending off, Ollie Watkins scored the only goal of the game to condemn Chelsea to the third league defeat.

Blues boss Pochettino said his players need to "grow up" as he vented post-match. He told reporters: “We were talking, we need to grow up like a team. Nico is young and is feeling the Premier League.

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"Football is about winning but players when they are young need to learn. That is why we feel disappointed. We have too many situations like this.”

Pochettino will have been especially disappointed given he'd even warned Jackson about his behaviour towards referee heading into the match.

He'd said earlier in the week: “I talked to him today. We were talking about that. We had a meeting with him and Enzo [Fernandez]. I said ‘come on, for a striker to have four yellow cards, to protest…to talk with the referee.

“You need to get some yellow cards for different actions not because of that. It’s so easy, so cheap. I think he could put the team in a really difficult situation [if it continues]. He understood.

“But Jackson is 22, he is young, he needs to learn, to improve. He is going to be a fantastic player, but he needs time.”

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