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While Chelsea avoided a total demolition of their chances of ending up in the highest eight places of the continental tournament group stage, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own hopes of strolling directly into the knockout stages. Naturally, the good news is that in the brief history of the recently revamped tournament, achieving a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Core Issue: A Predictable Inconsistency

Unfortunately for Stamford Bridge regulars, the only consistent thing about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been widely discussed following their loss in Bergamo. After apparently rubber-stamping their credentials with an commanding victory of a European giant, and then a bad-tempered draw with Arsenal, 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.

While pundits have been quick to lay the blame on a team selection approach that seems to see the coach rotate his team incessantly, the Chelsea head coach insists that, injuries and suspensions aside, the core of his starting lineup for big matches is largely set in stone.

“I think in that game, first XI, we had inside the pitch eight, nine players that featured against Tottenham, they play against Barcelona, they play against Wolves, the Gunners,” he droned. “There were eight, nine players that are the ones consistently selected for these kind of games. So if you look at the five changes that we did from the Bournemouth game, it’s different.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of avoiding the Bigger Cup playoff round, they will have to be victorious in their remaining two matches. In the first, they host the unexpected contenders a Cypriot team, before heading back to Italy to face the Italian title holders, the Neapolitan side.

“Victories in both are required, if not, we try to play the playoff and then progress to the following stage,” remarked Maresca, whose next appointment is a match against an Merseyside team whose current form has taken to them to the surprising position of seventh in the domestic league.

Other Notes

Quote of the Day: “You know, it’s actually funny because his biggest dream was me becoming a professional golfer. That was his biggest dream. 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 explained how, if his father had his preference, he could have been on the golf course rather than tearing it up in the Premier League.

Fan Correspondence

“Well, no wonder Wolves 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 public house that the supporters planned to be at anyway, to the stadium that they were inevitably 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 name check in a separate letter. On a night where both clubs from Sheffield again surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could Sheffield be proving that the regularity of appearances in your letters section is inversely related to the value of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – another fan.