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Although The Blues didn't entirely destroy their chances of finishing in the highest eight places of the European competition opening phase, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own chances of strolling directly into the round of 16. Of course, the silver lining 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 Core Issue: A Monotonous Lack of Consistency

Sadly for the club's supporters, the sole predictable element about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been much remarked upon following their defeat in Bergamo. Since seemingly confirming their credentials with an impressive beat-down of Barcelona, and then a bad-tempered draw with Arsenal, the team have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a snoozy stalemate at the south coast club and have now lost against a mid-table side from Serie A.

While critics have been quick to lay the blame on a team selection approach that seems to see Enzo Maresca change his lineup incessantly, the manager maintains that, injuries and suspensions aside, the nucleus of his first eleven for big matches is largely set in stone.

“I think in that game, starting team, we had inside the pitch eight, nine players that featured against Spurs, they play against Barca, they played against Wolves, Arsenal,” he stated. “We had most of the regulars that are the ones consistently selected for matches of this magnitude. So if you see the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth game, it’s a different situation.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of avoiding the additional knockout round, Chelsea will have to be victorious in their remaining two matches. First up, they welcome this season’s surprise package Pafos, then travel back to Italy to face the Italian title holders, the Neapolitan side.

“We need to win both, if not, we will face the playoff and then go to the following stage,” sniffed the Italian coach, whose following fixture is a match against an Everton team whose recent consistency has taken to them to the surprising position of the top half in the domestic league.

Side Stories

Quote of the Day: “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 pushed me to take up 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 on the golf course rather than tearing it up in the top flight.

Readers' Letters

“Well, no wonder Wolverhampton Wanderers are in such a sad state. As any longtime reader of this email will know, the only effective pre-match protests involve walking from a pub that the supporters planned to be at anyway, to the stadium 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 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 surrendered points after leading, I am led to ponder: could the city be proving that the frequency of appearances in your letters section is inversely related to the value of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – another fan.