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Although The London club avoided a total demolition of their prospects of finishing in the highest eight places of the Bigger Cup opening phase, they executed a targeted blow on their own chances of waltzing straight into the round of 16. Naturally, the good news is that in the short one-year history of the recently revamped tournament, achieving a place in the top eight may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Central Concern: A Predictable Inconsistency

Sadly for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about the Chelsea team is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been widely discussed since their defeat in Bergamo. Since apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an impressive beat-down of a European giant, followed by a feisty stalemate with Arsenal, the team have been stuffed by Leeds, played out a dull draw at the south coast club and have now lost against a mid-table side from Italy's top flight.

Although critics have been quick to lay the blame on a team selection approach that appears to see Enzo Maresca change his lineup constantly, the manager insists that, injuries and suspensions aside, the nucleus of his first eleven for games against strong opposition is largely set in stone.

“In my view in that game, first XI, we had on the field the majority of the team that featured against Spurs, they play against Barca, they play against Wolves, the Gunners,” he stated. “There were most of the regulars that are the ones playing every time for these kind of games. So if you look at the five changes that we did compared to Bournemouth game, it’s a different situation.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of escaping the Bigger Cup playoff round, they will have to win their remaining two matches. In the first, they welcome this season’s surprise package a Cypriot team, before heading back to Italy to face the Serie A champions, Napoli.

“We need to win both, if not, we will face the extra round and then progress to the following stage,” sniffed Maresca, whose next appointment is a match against an Everton team whose current form has propelled them to the surprising position of seventh in the domestic league.

Other Notes

Quote of the Day: “It's interesting, 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 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 teeing off rather than scoring goals in the top flight.

Fan Correspondence

“So, no wonder Wolverhampton Wanderers are in such a sad state. As any longtime reader of this column will know, the only good pre-match protests involve walking from a pub that the supporters intended to visit 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” – a correspondent.

“I see that a reader not only got the previous featured letter, but also a name check in another reader's letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams once more surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could Sheffield be proving that the regularity of representation in your mailbag is inversely related to the success of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – another fan.