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While Chelsea didn't entirely destroy their prospects of finishing in the top eight of the European competition opening phase, they executed a targeted blow on their own hopes of strolling directly into the knockout stages. Of course, the good news is that in the brief history of the new and not-necessarily-improved tournament, achieving a top-eight finish isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The Central Concern: A Monotonous Inconsistency

Unfortunately for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about the Chelsea team is a monotonously predictable lack of consistency, which has been widely discussed following their defeat in Italy. After seemingly confirming their credentials with an impressive beat-down of a European giant, and then a feisty stalemate with a London rival, the team have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a snoozy stalemate at Bournemouth and have now been beaten by a mid-table side from Italy's top flight.

While critics have been quick to lay the blame on a selection policy that appears 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 in that game, first XI, we had inside the pitch eight, nine players that play against Spurs, they played against Barca, they play against Wolves, Arsenal,” he stated. “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

To have any realistic chance of escaping the Bigger Cup playoff round, they will have to be victorious in their final two group games. In the first, they welcome this season’s surprise package Pafos, then travel back to Italy to face the Italian title holders, the Neapolitan side.

“Victories in both are required, if not, we will face the extra round and then progress to the following stage,” sniffed Maresca, whose next appointment is a game against an Everton team whose recent consistency has taken to them to the surprising position of seventh in the Premier League.

Side Stories

Notable Comment: “You know, it’s somewhat ironic 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 practiced 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 poor situation. As any longtime 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 ground 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 see that a reader not only got Tuesday’s featured letter, but also a mention in another reader's 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 regularity of appearances in your mailbag is inversely proportional to the success of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – another fan.