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Although The London club didn’t completely torpedo their chances of finishing in the top eight of the Bigger Cup opening phase, they performed a precise, surgical strike on their own hopes 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 place in the top eight may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Central Issue: A Monotonous Lack of Consistency

Sadly for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about Enzo Maresca’s side is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been widely discussed following their loss in Italy. After apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an impressive beat-down of Barcelona, followed by a bad-tempered draw with Arsenal, the team have been stuffed by a Championship side, played out a dull draw at the south coast club and have now lost against a average team from Serie A.

Although pundits have been eager to point the finger on a selection policy that appears to see Enzo Maresca change his lineup incessantly, the manager insists that, injuries and suspensions aside, 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 featured against Spurs, they played against Barca, they played against Wolverhampton, the Gunners,” he droned. “There were most of the regulars that are the ones playing every time for matches of this magnitude. So if you look at the several alterations that we did compared to previous game, it’s different.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of avoiding the additional knockout round, they will have to win their final two group games. First up, they host this season’s surprise package Pafos, before heading back to Italy to face the Serie A champions, the Neapolitan side.

“Victories in both are required, otherwise, we try to play the playoff and then go to the following stage,” remarked Maresca, whose next appointment is a match against an Everton team whose recent consistency has taken to them to the dizzy heights of seventh in the domestic league.

Other Notes

Notable Comment: “You know, it’s actually funny because his biggest dream was me becoming a professional golfer. That was his ultimate ambition. So when I was 10, he forced me to start on golf. So I practiced every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker revealed how, had his dad got his way, he could have been on the golf course rather than scoring goals in the top flight.

Fan Correspondence

“Well, no wonder Wolves are in such a poor situation. As any regular reader of this email will know, the only effective pre-match protests involve marching from a pub that the supporters intended to visit anyway, to the ground 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 Tuesday’s letter o’ the day, but also a mention 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 letters section is inversely proportional to the value of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – another fan.