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While The Blues didn’t completely torpedo their chances of finishing in the highest eight places of the continental tournament opening phase, they performed a targeted blow on their own hopes of automatically qualifying for the knockout stages. Of course, the good news is that in the brief history of the recently revamped tournament, achieving a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Core Problem: A Predictable Inconsistency

Sadly for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been widely discussed following their defeat in Bergamo. After seemingly confirming their credentials with an impressive beat-down of Barcelona, followed by a bad-tempered draw with Arsenal, the team have been defeated by a Championship side, played out a dull draw at the south coast club 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 team selection approach that seems to see the coach rotate his team incessantly, the manager maintains that, injuries and suspensions aside, the nucleus of his first eleven for big matches is mostly fixed.

“In my view tonight, starting team, we had inside the pitch the majority of the team that featured against Tottenham, they played against Barcelona, they play against Wolverhampton, the Gunners,” he stated. “We had eight, nine players that are the ones playing every time for matches of this magnitude. So if you see the several alterations that we did from the Bournemouth game, it’s a different situation.”

The Path Forward

For a genuine opportunity of escaping the additional knockout round, they will have to win their final two group games. In the first, they welcome the unexpected contenders a Cypriot team, then travel back to Italy to face the Italian title holders, Napoli.

“We need to win both, otherwise, we try to play the playoff and then go to the next round,” sniffed the Italian coach, whose following fixture is a match against an Merseyside team whose current form has propelled them to the surprising position of the top half in the domestic league.

Side Stories

Quote of the Day: “It's interesting, it’s actually funny because his biggest dream was me becoming a professional golfer. That was his ultimate ambition. So when I was 10, he forced me to take up golf. So I played golf every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker explained how, if his father had his preference, he could have been on the golf course rather than tearing it up in the top flight.

Fan Correspondence

“So, 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 public house that the supporters intended to visit anyway, to the stadium that they were always 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 a reader not only got the previous letter o’ the day, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams once more surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could Sheffield be proving that the regularity of appearances in your letters section is inversely related to the success of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – a different supporter.