Chelsea have shown in spells – most notably when they beat Paris St‑Germain 3-0 in the Club World Cup final in July – that they are capable of defeating anyone on their day. The issue is their inability to consistently reproduce that level, a flaw that continues to undermine them both domestically and in Europe.
In the Champions League, holders PSG have comfortably beaten Chelsea over two legs, underlining their own ability to consistently play at a high level.
Chelsea, on the other hand, went all in for the first leg and were beaten 5-2 because of poor concentration, individual errors and ill‑discipline, rather than a lack of technical quality.
And the second leg began in the same manner when Mamadou Sarr, 20, lacked conviction defending a long ball to give Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the yard he needed to do the damage.
It was not just Sarr, Moises Caicedo was at fault for the second and Trevoh Chalobah got away with a bad mistake in the 33rd minute.
Of course, Sarr only played because of selection problems linked to Rosenior picking his strongest XI against Newcastle on Saturday, a match Chelsea lost 1-0. Reece James has suffered a potentially serious hamstring injury, while players such as Cole Palmer, Caicedo and Pedro Neto appear fatigued despite starting.
Alongside Sarr, 10 other members of this Chelsea squad had not played in this competition before this season, highlighting how this is a new frontier for so many of them.
It perhaps stands to reason that this is too much too soon for such the youngest starting XI to play a Champions League knockout game for Chelsea, regardless of the expectation of the shirt they wear.
But Chelsea have now lost four consecutive Champions League knockout games for the first time in the club's history.
This is a squad capable of beating anyone on its day, which has led to cup successes in the Conference League and Club World Cup and they could yet deliver FA Cup silverware to the Todd Boehly and Clearlake ownership.
However, those days do not come often enough to win a competition like the Premier League or Champions League.
