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While Chelsea didn't entirely destroy their chances of finishing in the top eight of the European competition group stage, they performed a targeted blow on their own chances of waltzing straight into the knockout stages. Naturally, the silver lining is that in the brief history of the new and not-necessarily-improved tournament, securing a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Core Concern: A Monotonous Inconsistency

Sadly for the club's supporters, the only consistent thing about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic lack of consistency, which has been widely discussed following their defeat in Bergamo. Since seemingly confirming their credentials with an impressive beat-down of Barcelona, and then a bad-tempered draw with a London rival, Chelsea have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a dull draw at Bournemouth and have now lost against a mid-table side from Italy's top flight.

Although pundits have been quick to lay the blame on a selection policy that appears to see the coach change his lineup constantly, the manager maintains that, knack and naughty step permitting, the core of his starting lineup for big matches is largely set in stone.

“I think in that game, starting team, we had inside the pitch the majority of the team that featured against Tottenham, they played against Barcelona, they play against Wolves, Arsenal,” he stated. “There were eight, nine players that are the ones playing every time for these kind of games. So if you look at the several alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth game, it’s a different situation.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of escaping the additional knockout 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 Italian title holders, the Neapolitan side.

“We need to win both, otherwise, we will face the extra round and then progress to the next round,” remarked Maresca, whose following fixture is a match against an Merseyside team whose current form has taken to them to the surprising position of seventh in the Premier League.

Side Stories

Quote of the Day: “You know, it’s actually funny because his greatest wish was me becoming a professional golfer. That was his biggest dream. So when I was 10, he forced me to take up golf. So I practiced every week from when I was 10 to 13” – Erling Haaland revealed how, had his dad got his way, he could have been on the golf course rather than tearing it up in the Premier League.

Fan Correspondence

“Well, no wonder Wolverhampton Wanderers 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 intended to visit 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 the previous featured letter, but also a mention in another reader's letter. On a night where both clubs from Sheffield 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 value of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – another fan.