Nicolas Jackson was sent off for a reckless challenge just two minutes after coming off the bench in Chelsea’s Club World Cup clash with Flamengo.
The red card topped six minutes of madness for Chelsea who went from leading their Brazilian opponents 1-0 after 61 minutes to finding themselves 2-1 down — and with only 10 men — after 67 minutes.
The red card was the worst possible birthday present for the 24-year-old who is competing with Liam Delap, the man he replaced on the pitch, as Chelsea’s first-choice striker.
It had all started so well for Enzo Maresca’s side with a fine finish from Pedro Neto giving them a 1-0 lead going into the bench.
But, first, Bruno Henrique levelled for Flamengo with a simple 62nd-minute finish before Danilo put the Brazilian side ahead three minutes later when he headed in from a corner.
Jackson gave his side an uphill task when he lost his head and reduced the Blues to ten men before Wallace Yan took advantage of some poor defending to make it 3-1.
MORE TO FOLLOW
Nicolas Jackson is sent off just two minutes after coming off the bench against Flamengo
The striker trudges off after being given his marching orders for his rash challenge
