🔗 Share this article

Although The Blues didn't entirely destroy their prospects of finishing in the highest eight places of the Bigger Cup group stage, they performed a targeted blow on their own chances of strolling directly into the round of 16. Of course, the good news is that in the brief history of the recently revamped tournament, securing a top-eight finish isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

The Central Problem: A Predictable Lack of Consistency

Sadly for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about Enzo Maresca’s side is a monotonously predictable inconsistency, which has been much remarked upon following their loss in Bergamo. After apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an impressive beat-down of Barcelona, and then a bad-tempered draw with a London rival, the team have been defeated by Leeds, played out a dull draw at the south coast club 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 team selection approach that appears to see the coach rotate his team like a kebab shop’s elephant leg of doner meat, the manager insists that, injuries and suspensions aside, the nucleus of his starting lineup for games against strong opposition is largely set in stone.

“In my view tonight, first XI, we had on the field eight, nine players that featured against Spurs, they play against Barcelona, they play against Wolves, Arsenal,” he stated. “There were eight, nine players that are the ones playing every time for matches of this magnitude. So if you look at the five changes that we did compared to previous game, it’s a different situation.”

What Comes Next

To have any realistic chance of escaping the additional knockout round, they will have to be victorious in their final two group games. In the first, they host the unexpected contenders a Cypriot team, then travel back to Italy to face the Serie A champions, Napoli.

“Victories in both are required, otherwise, we try to play the extra round and then progress to the next round,” sniffed the Italian coach, whose next appointment is a game against an Everton team whose recent consistency has taken to them to the dizzy heights of seventh in the Premier League.

Other Notes

Notable Comment: “It's interesting, it’s somewhat ironic because his biggest dream 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 practiced every week from when I was 10 to 13” – Erling Haaland explained how, if his father had his preference, he could have been on the golf course rather than scoring goals in the top flight.

Fan Correspondence

“So, no wonder Wolverhampton Wanderers are in such a poor situation. As any regular reader of this email will know, the only good pre-match protests involve walking from a public house that the supporters intended to visit anyway, to the stadium that they were always going to. Just showing up 10 minutes late? That’s how long it takes fans to get to their seats anyway” – one reader.

“I see that one correspondent not only got the previous featured letter, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams once more surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could Sheffield be proving that the frequency of appearances in your mailbag is inversely proportional to the value of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – another fan.