Pedro Neto’s dismissal at Arsenal has developed into a disciplinary case that could keep the Chelsea winger out for longer than the automatic one-match ban. The FA have charged Neto with allegedly “acting in an improper manner” towards referee Darren England, citing that he “failed to leave the pitch promptly and/or used abusive words towards the match officials.”

The red card followed two yellow cards, and Neto’s reaction on the touchline is under scrutiny. He confronted Darren England, then engaged in an exchange with fourth official Stuart Attwell while walking the perimeter of the Emirates Stadium pitch before Chelsea staff escorted him down the tunnel. The sending off produced an immediate one-match ban, which Neto served in Wednesday’s night game with Champions League qualification rivals Aston Villa.

Chelsea did not suffer for his absence in that match. They dismantled Villa 4–1 at home, propelled by a hat-trick from João Pedro. Neto remains a highly regarded right winger, described in the original report as one of the best in his position, but the FA’s additional charge could add at least one more match to his ban if he is found guilty. Neto, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers ace, has until Monday, March 9 to respond to the charge.

Manager Liam Rosenior confirmed Neto had apologised to the squad for the red card and placed the incident in the context of wider disciplinary concerns. Rosenior said: “It needs to improve. My job is to create a culture of accountability, where if you make a mistake it’s OK, you hold your hands up and make sure it doesn’t happen again. But you have to hold your hands up to the original mistake.

“If I make a wrong team selection or I get something wrong, my job is to be accountable. It’s the same for my players in that moment.”

He added: “I just need to see an improvement in the behaviour now. It’s not just Pedro. People speak about dissent; we’ve had needless bookings in terms of fouls. If we are to improve and get to where we want to be, we have to make a conscious step now to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The incident follows a difficult start against Unai Emery’s side, where Douglas Luiz opened the scoring after 125 seconds, a blow that came despite a pre-match huddle around the centre spot.

Chelsea’s 4–1 victory at Villa Park on Wednesday is bound to be remembered for João Pedro’s first Premier League hat trick, but the posturing before both kickoffs drew as much attention as the goals.

Seconds after Chelsea started the match, Douglas Luiz put Aston Villa ahead inside 125 seconds with a well-taken opener. The visitors levelled through João Pedro in the 35th minute, and he then put his side ahead in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Before the opening whistle the Chelsea players gathered in a tight huddle around the ball at the centre circle, and they repeated the ritual before the second-half restart. Amadou Onana and Ollie Watkins appeared impatient as Chelsea’s players stayed clustered around the ball. The Villa Park crowd reacted first with confusion and then with loud boos as the second half began.

For Chelsea’s manager the scene was a welcome sign rather than a provocation. “That comes from unity,” Rosenior told BBC’s Match of the Day after Chelsea climbed up to fifth place, three points behind Aston Villa. “That comes from the players. It doesn’t come from me. As their manager, it makes me really proud to see.

“They’ve taken a lot of message on board from not just myself, but from the staff. Willie Isa is a top man and he’s from rugby, he’s from New Zealand, and he’s spoken a lot about our togetherness and the players have taken it on board.”

Willie Isa was appointed as the club’s player support and development officer in February 2025, a month after his professional retirement. Isa spent a decade and a half at club level and made more than 300 appearances before representing his nation, but those appearances came in rugby league rather than soccer.

Isa’s former head coach at Wigan Warrior, Matt Peet, was confident about the appointment. “He is a cultural architect,” Peet told The Athletic upon Isa’s appointment. “He will make the environment better and all the individuals around the environment better. Ignore the different shape of the ball that he is associated with, Willie’s skill set is all about high-performing teams, leadership and dealing with people. ]

We are deep into the final quarter of the Premier League season and Opta’s Power Rankings make clear which clubs face the steepest tests. The dataset lists mean difficulty scores for each side’s remaining fixtures, with Wolves (88.83) and Leeds (89.38) among the friendlier schedules and Everton (92.57) and Crystal Palace (92.30) toward the more difficult end.

The full set of mean difficulty figures runs from Wolves at 88.83 up to Everton at 92.57, with notable entries including Brighton (90.13), Aston Villa (90.28), Arsenal (90.30), Tottenham (90.49), Brentford (90.64), Nottingham Forest (90.72), Sunderland (91.06), Newcastle (91.21), Manchester United (91.33), Bournemouth (91.40), Fulham (91.40), Manchester City (91.44), Liverpool (91.52), Burnley (91.66), Chelsea (91.70), West Ham (92.01), Crystal Palace (92.30) and Everton (92.57).

Chelsea supporters will be concerned: Opta shows the Blues have the highest mean difficulty among the top-seven sides. The report notes Chelsea have taken points from Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa, and still have to face Liverpool and Manchester City again.

In the title race, the rankings suggest Arsenal hold a scheduling edge over Manchester City. Arsenal’s only remaining match against a current top-seven side is the trip to City in April. City, by contrast, still face Chelsea, Aston Villa and Arsenal, plus potentially testing away fixtures at Everton and Bournemouth.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, register one of the clearest runs among the teams competing for Champions League qualification, with a relatively straightforward closing schedule according to the numbers.

Manchester United and Liverpool both confront tricky finishes as they chase a top-five place; United’s path includes games against Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool, while Liverpool must play Chelsea, Villa and travel to Old Trafford in the closing weeks.

At the other end, Tottenham, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth occupy varied positions on the difficulty scale, with Leeds and Wolves among the clubs with the kinder runs remaining.