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Although Chelsea avoided a total demolition of their chances of ending up in the top eight of the continental tournament opening phase, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own hopes of strolling directly into the knockout stages. Of course, the good news is that in the brief history of the new and not-necessarily-improved competition, securing a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Core Problem: A Predictable Lack of Consistency

Sadly for the club's supporters, the sole predictable element about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic lack of consistency, which has been widely discussed since their loss in Italy. Since apparently rubber-stamping their credentials with an impressive beat-down of a European giant, and then a feisty stalemate with a London rival, the team have been stuffed 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 pundits have been quick to lay the blame on a team selection approach that appears to see the coach rotate his team incessantly, the manager maintains that, knack and naughty step permitting, the core of his starting lineup for games against strong opposition is mostly fixed.

“I think tonight, first XI, we had on the field the majority of the team that play against Spurs, they play against Barca, they play against Wolves, the Gunners,” he stated. “We had most of the regulars that are the ones consistently selected for these kind of games. So if you see the five changes that we did compared to previous game, it’s a different situation.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of escaping the Bigger Cup playoff round, they will have to win their final two group games. First up, they welcome this season’s surprise package a Cypriot team, then travel back to the continent to face the Serie A champions, Napoli.

“We need to win both, otherwise, we will face the playoff and then go to the following stage,” remarked Maresca, whose next appointment is a match against an Merseyside team whose current form has propelled them to the dizzy heights of the top half in the Premier League.

Other Notes

Notable Comment: “It's interesting, it’s somewhat ironic because his greatest wish was me turning pro in golf. That was his biggest dream. So when I was 10, he forced me to start on golf. So I played golf every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker explained how, had his dad got his way, he could have been teeing off rather than scoring goals in the top flight.

Fan Correspondence

“So, no wonder Wolves are in such a poor situation. As any regular 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 ground 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 Tuesday’s letter o’ the day, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams again dropped points after leading, I am led to ponder: could Sheffield be proving that the regularity of representation in your mailbag is inversely proportional to the success of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – another fan.