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Although Chelsea didn’t completely torpedo their prospects of finishing in the highest eight places of the continental tournament opening phase, they performed a precise, surgical strike on their own chances of strolling directly into the knockout stages. Naturally, the silver lining is that in the brief history of the recently revamped tournament, securing a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Core Issue: A Predictable Inconsistency

Unfortunately 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 loss in Bergamo. Since seemingly confirming their credentials with an commanding victory of a European giant, followed by a feisty stalemate with a London rival, Chelsea have been stuffed by a Championship side, played out a dull draw at Bournemouth and have now been beaten by a mid-table side from Serie A.

Although critics have been eager to point the finger on a team selection approach that seems to see Enzo Maresca change his lineup incessantly, the manager maintains that, knack and naughty step permitting, the core of his first eleven for big matches is mostly fixed.

“I think in that game, first XI, we had inside the pitch eight, nine players that featured against Spurs, they play against Barcelona, they played against Wolverhampton, the Gunners,” he stated. “There were most of the regulars that are the ones playing every time for matches of this magnitude. So if you see the several alterations that we did compared to Bournemouth game, it’s different.”

The Path Forward

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 a Cypriot team, before heading back to Italy to face the Serie A champions, Napoli.

“Victories in both are required, if not, we try to play the extra round and then go to the next round,” sniffed the Italian coach, whose next appointment is a match against an Everton team whose current form has propelled them to the dizzy heights of seventh in the domestic league.

Other Notes

Quote of the Day: “It's interesting, 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 played golf every week from when I was 10 to 13” – Erling Haaland explained how, had his dad got his way, he could have been teeing off rather than scoring goals in the Premier League.

Readers' Letters

“Well, no wonder Wolverhampton Wanderers are in such a sad state. As any regular reader of this column will know, the only effective pre-match protests involve walking from a pub 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” – a correspondent.

“I see that a reader not only got the previous letter o’ the day, but also a name check in another reader's letter. On a night where both clubs from Sheffield again surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could the city be proving that the regularity of appearances in your mailbag is inversely related to the value of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – another fan.