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Although Chelsea didn't entirely destroy their chances of finishing in the top eight of the European competition group stage, they executed a precise, surgical strike on their own chances of waltzing straight into the round of 16. Of course, the good news is that in the short one-year history of the new and not-necessarily-improved tournament, achieving a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Core Issue: A Monotonous Inconsistency

Sadly for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been widely discussed since their loss in Italy. After apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an commanding victory of Barcelona, and then a bad-tempered draw with Arsenal, Chelsea have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a dull draw at Bournemouth and have now lost against a mid-table side from Serie A.

While critics have been eager to point the finger on a selection policy that appears to see Enzo Maresca change his lineup incessantly, the Chelsea head coach maintains that, knack and naughty step permitting, the nucleus of his first eleven for games against strong opposition is mostly fixed.

“In my view tonight, starting team, we had inside the pitch the majority of the team that play against Tottenham, they played against Barca, they played against Wolves, Arsenal,” he droned. “There were eight, nine players that are the ones consistently selected for matches of this magnitude. So if you see 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 final two group games. In the first, they welcome the unexpected contenders a Cypriot team, then travel back to Italy to face the Serie A champions, Napoli.

“We need to win both, if not, we will face the playoff and then go to the next round,” sniffed Maresca, whose following fixture is a match against an Everton team whose recent consistency has propelled them to the surprising position of seventh in the Premier League.

Side Stories

Quote of the Day: “It's interesting, it’s somewhat ironic because his biggest dream was me turning pro in golf. That was his ultimate ambition. 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, if his father had his preference, he could have been teeing off rather than tearing it up in the Premier League.

Readers' Letters

“So, no wonder Wolves are in such a sad state. As any longtime reader of this email will know, the only good pre-match protests involve walking from a pub 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 one correspondent not only got the previous letter o’ the day, but also a name check in another reader's letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams again dropped points after leading, I am wondering: could the city be proving that the frequency of appearances in your mailbag is inversely proportional to the success of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – a different supporter.