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While The Blues didn’t completely torpedo their hopes of finishing in the top eight of the European competition group stage, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own chances of strolling directly into the knockout stages. Naturally, the good news is that in the brief history of the new and not-necessarily-improved tournament, achieving a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Core Problem: A Monotonous Inconsistency

Unfortunately for the club's supporters, the sole predictable element about the Chelsea team is a reliably erratic lack of consistency, which has been widely discussed since their defeat in Bergamo. Since seemingly confirming their credentials with an impressive beat-down of a European giant, followed by a feisty stalemate with Arsenal, Chelsea have been defeated by Leeds, played out a snoozy stalemate at Bournemouth 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 seems to see Enzo Maresca change his lineup constantly, the manager insists that, knack and naughty step permitting, the nucleus of his first eleven for big matches is mostly fixed.

“I think tonight, starting team, we had on the field eight, nine players that featured against Spurs, they play against Barcelona, they played against Wolverhampton, Arsenal,” he droned. “We had most of the regulars that are the ones playing every time for these kind of games. So if you see the five changes that we did from the previous game, it’s different.”

What Comes Next

To have any realistic chance of escaping the additional knockout round, Chelsea will have to win their final two group games. First up, they host the unexpected contenders Pafos, then travel back to the continent to face the Italian title holders, Napoli.

“We need to win both, if not, we try to play the playoff and then go to the following stage,” sniffed the Italian coach, whose next appointment is a match against an Merseyside team whose recent consistency has taken to them to the dizzy heights of seventh in the Premier League.

Other Notes

Quote of the Day: “You know, it’s actually funny because his biggest dream was me turning pro in golf. That was his ultimate ambition. So when I was 10, he pushed me to take up golf. So I practiced every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker revealed how, if his father had his preference, he could have been teeing off rather than tearing it up in the top flight.

Fan Correspondence

“Well, no wonder Wolves are in such a sad state. As any longtime reader of this column will know, the only effective pre-match protests involve walking from a public house that the supporters planned to be at 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” – one reader.

“I note that one correspondent not only got Tuesday’s featured letter, but also a name check in a separate letter. On a night where both clubs from Sheffield once more dropped points after leading, I am led to ponder: could Sheffield be proving that the frequency of appearances in your mailbag is inversely related to the value of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – another fan.