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While Chelsea didn’t completely torpedo their hopes of ending up in the highest eight places of the European competition opening phase, they performed a targeted blow on their own hopes of waltzing straight into the knockout stages. Of course, the good news is that in the short one-year history of the new and not-necessarily-improved tournament, achieving a place in the top eight isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The Central Problem: A Predictable Lack of Consistency

Sadly for Stamford Bridge regulars, the only consistent thing about the Chelsea team is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been widely discussed following their loss in Bergamo. After apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an commanding victory of Barcelona, followed by a feisty stalemate with Arsenal, Chelsea have been defeated by a Championship side, played out a dull draw at Bournemouth and have now been beaten by a mid-table side from Italy's top flight.

Although critics have been eager to point the finger on a selection policy that seems to see Enzo Maresca change his lineup incessantly, the Chelsea head coach insists that, knack and naughty step permitting, the core of his starting lineup for big matches is mostly fixed.

“I think tonight, first XI, we had on the field eight, nine players that play against Tottenham, they play against Barca, they played against Wolverhampton, the Gunners,” he stated. “There were eight, nine players that are the ones consistently selected for matches of this magnitude. So if you look at the several alterations that we did compared to previous game, it’s different.”

The Path Forward

For a genuine opportunity of avoiding the Bigger Cup playoff round, Chelsea will have to win their remaining two matches. First up, they host this season’s surprise package a Cypriot team, before heading back to Italy to face the Italian title holders, Napoli.

“Victories in both are required, otherwise, we try to play the extra round and then progress to the next round,” sniffed Maresca, whose next appointment is a match against an Merseyside team whose recent consistency has propelled them to the dizzy heights of the top half in the domestic league.

Side Stories

Notable Comment: “You know, it’s somewhat ironic because his greatest wish was me becoming a professional golfer. That was his ultimate ambition. So when I was 10, he pushed me to take up golf. So I practiced every week from when I was 10 to 13” – Erling Haaland explained how, had his dad got his way, he could have been teeing off rather than scoring goals in the Premier League.

Fan Correspondence

“Well, no wonder Wolverhampton Wanderers are in such a poor situation. As any longtime reader of this email will know, the only good pre-match protests involve marching from a pub that the supporters intended to visit anyway, to the stadium that they were inevitably going to. Just arriving 10 minutes late? That’s how long it takes fans to get to their seats anyway” – a correspondent.

“I see that one correspondent not only got Tuesday’s featured letter, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams once more dropped points after leading, I am led to ponder: could Sheffield be proving that the frequency of appearances in your letters section is inversely related to the value of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – a different supporter.