Why Chelsea may actually rather miss out on Champions League top eight as route to final becomes clear

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Chelsea’s hopes of automatically qualifying for the Champions League Round of 16 were dealt a major blow with their defeat to Atalanta this week.

The Blues haven’t won away in the Champions League since 2022, and this is hurting them in their efforts to be seen amongst Europe’s elite.

Enzo Maresca will have originally wanted the two midweeks off that the play-off round will take up, however will now be preparing for the prospect of that two-legged affair.

If the competition ended today, 13th placed Chelsea would take on one of Bayer Leverkusen or Monaco for a place in the Round of 16.

Chelsea may actually prefer missing out on Champions League top eight to avoid Arsenal and Bayern Munich

Finishing between 11th and 14th and 19th and 22nd would see the Blues not have to face the group winners or runners-up until the semi-finals.

This is likely to be Arsenal and Bayern Munich, who have comfortably been the best two sides in the competition this season. The Bundesliga side have already beaten Chelsea 3-1.

Finishing in either seventh or eighth would likely set up a quarter-final with one of these sides, putting a real doubt in their chances of further progressing in the competition.

Any side looking to win the Champions League are going to need a bit of luck on the way, but last season’s winners, PSG, showed that you do not need to impress in the group stages to be triumphant in May.

Chelsea’s attention turns away from Europe

Problems at Chelsea lie deeper than just the Champions League results though. They are without a win in their last four games in all competitions.

This has seen any faint hope of genuinely competing for the Premier League dwindle, however they have an opportunity to start to address this with the upcoming fixture against Everton.

Chelsea’s stunning home record vs Everton 🔥

What does Enzo Maresca need to do to keep this record intact? 🤔

Chelsea have not lost any of their previous 30 Premier League home games against Everton, winning 17 and drawing 13!

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Stamford Bridge has been a fortress against this opposition in the past, and Cole Palmer is likely to be back in the starting side after he didn’t travel to Italy.

It could be the first opportunity for Chelsea fans to see Palmer and Estevao Willian start together, with the Brazilian an unused Champions League substitute.