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Although The Blues didn’t completely torpedo their chances of finishing in the top eight of the Bigger Cup group stage, they performed a targeted blow on their own hopes of automatically qualifying for the round of 16. Naturally, 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 Central Issue: A Predictable Inconsistency

Sadly for the club's supporters, the only consistent thing about the Chelsea team is a monotonously predictable lack of consistency, which has been widely discussed following their defeat in Bergamo. After seemingly confirming their quality with an commanding victory of a European giant, followed by a feisty stalemate with Arsenal, the team have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a snoozy stalemate at Bournemouth and have now lost against a average team from Serie A.

Although 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.

“I think in that game, first XI, we had inside the pitch eight, nine players that play against Spurs, they play against Barca, they played against Wolverhampton, Arsenal,” he stated. “There were most of the regulars 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.”

The Path Forward

For a genuine opportunity of escaping the Bigger Cup playoff round, they will have to be victorious in their final two group games. In the first, they host this season’s surprise package a Cypriot team, before heading back to the continent to face the Italian title holders, Napoli.

“We need to win both, otherwise, we try to play the extra round and then go to the following stage,” remarked the Italian coach, 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

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 scoring goals in the top flight.

Readers' Letters

“So, no wonder Wolves 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 pub that the supporters planned to be at anyway, to the stadium that they were inevitably going to. Just showing up 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 featured letter, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both clubs from Sheffield once more surrendered points after leading, I am led to ponder: could the city be proving that the frequency of representation in your letters section is inversely related to the success of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – a different supporter.