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Although The London club didn't entirely destroy their chances of ending up in the highest eight places of the European competition opening phase, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own chances of waltzing straight into the round of 16. Of course, the good news is that in the short one-year history of the recently revamped tournament, securing a place in the top eight may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Central Issue: A Predictable Inconsistency

Unfortunately for the club's supporters, the only consistent thing about Enzo Maresca’s side is a monotonously predictable lack of consistency, which has been much remarked upon since their defeat in Bergamo. After seemingly confirming their credentials with an commanding victory of Barcelona, followed by a bad-tempered draw with a London rival, the team have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a snoozy stalemate at Bournemouth and have now been beaten by a average team from Italy's top flight.

While critics have been eager to point the finger on a selection policy that seems to see Enzo Maresca rotate his team like a kebab shop’s elephant leg of doner meat, the manager insists that, knack and naughty step permitting, the core of his first eleven for big matches is mostly fixed.

“In my view in that game, starting team, we had inside the pitch the majority of the team that play against Tottenham, they play against Barca, they play against Wolves, Arsenal,” he droned. “There were most of the regulars that are the ones consistently selected for these kind of games. So if you see the several alterations that we did from the Bournemouth game, it’s a different situation.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of escaping the Bigger Cup playoff round, Chelsea will have to win their remaining two matches. First up, they welcome the unexpected contenders Pafos, then travel back to Italy to face the Italian title holders, the Neapolitan side.

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

Side Stories

Notable Comment: “You know, it’s actually funny 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 played golf every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker revealed how, if his father had his preference, he could have been teeing off rather than tearing it up in the top flight.

Readers' Letters

“So, no wonder Wolves 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 public house that the supporters intended to visit anyway, to the stadium that they were inevitably going to. Just showing up 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 the previous letter o’ the day, but also a mention in another reader's letter. On a night where both clubs from Sheffield again dropped points after leading, I am led to ponder: could Sheffield be proving that the frequency of representation in your letters section is inversely related to the value of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – another fan.