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While The Blues avoided a total demolition of their chances of finishing in the top eight of the continental tournament opening phase, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own chances of strolling directly into the round of 16. Of course, the silver lining is that in the brief history of the new and not-necessarily-improved competition, securing a top-eight finish isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The Core Concern: A Predictable Inconsistency

Unfortunately for the club's supporters, the sole predictable element about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic lack of consistency, which has been much remarked upon since their defeat in Italy. Since apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an commanding victory of a European giant, and then a bad-tempered draw with Arsenal, the team have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a dull draw at the south coast club and have now lost against a average team from Italy's top flight.

Although critics have been eager to point the finger on a selection policy that appears to see Enzo Maresca rotate his team like a kebab shop’s elephant leg of doner meat, the Chelsea head coach insists that, knack and naughty step permitting, the nucleus of his first eleven for games against strong opposition is mostly fixed.

“In my view in that game, first XI, we had inside the pitch the majority of the team that featured against Spurs, they played against Barca, they play against Wolverhampton, the Gunners,” he stated. “We had most of the regulars that are the ones playing every time for these kind of games. So if you see the several alterations that we did compared to previous game, it’s different.”

What Comes Next

To have any realistic chance of avoiding the additional knockout round, Chelsea will have to be victorious in their final two group games. In the first, they welcome the unexpected contenders Pafos, before heading back to Italy to face the Serie A champions, Napoli.

“Victories in both are required, otherwise, we will face the playoff and then progress to the following stage,” remarked the Italian coach, whose next appointment is a match against an Everton team whose current form has propelled them to the dizzy heights of the top half in the Premier League.

Side Stories

Quote of the Day: “You know, it’s somewhat ironic because his greatest wish was me turning pro in golf. That was his ultimate ambition. So when I was 10, he forced me to take up golf. So I practiced every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker explained how, had his dad got his way, he could have been on the golf course rather than tearing it up in the top flight.

Fan Correspondence

“So, no wonder Wolves are in such a sad state. As any regular reader of this email will know, the only good pre-match protests involve walking from a pub that the supporters planned to be at anyway, to the ground that they were always going to. Just arriving 10 minutes late? That’s how long it takes fans to get to their seats anyway” – one reader.

“I note that one correspondent not only got Tuesday’s featured letter, but also a mention in another reader's letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams once more surrendered points after leading, I am led to ponder: could Sheffield be proving that the regularity of appearances in your mailbag is inversely proportional to the success of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – another fan.