Chelsea came into this Champions League campaign with sky-high expectations, but their run is over before it ever truly began. After winning last year's Conference League and Club World Cup, fans and onlookers alike were anticipating the Blues to be challenging for the biggest honours this time round. However, that certainly is not how in transpired.
Last mid-week, Liam Rosenior's side endured a late collapse at the Parc des Princes; the score was 2-2 with only 15 minutes remaining, only for Paris Saint-Germain to score three quick-fire goals. Thus, they required a miracle to pull off a comeback at Stamford Bridge, but this was never actually on the cards.
First leg hero Khvicha Kvaratskhelia broke the deadlock in the sixth minute in West London, the earliest Chelsea have ever conceded a home Champions League knockout stage goal. Nine minutes later, Bradley Barcola scored les Rouge-et-Bleu's seventh of the tie, this the earliest the Blues have ever shipped two goals in any match in the competitions. 8-2 was the final aggregate scoreline, making this the club's most-emphatic European defeat of all-time.
Chelsea's heaviest-ever two-legged European defeats
- 2026 Champions League round of 16: Chelsea 2-8 Paris Saint-Germain.
- 2020 Champions League round of 16: Chelsea 1-7 Bayern Munich.
- 2022 Champions League quarter-final: Chelsea 0-4 Real Madrid.
- 2017 Champions League round of 16: Chelsea 1-4 Barcelona.
This was only the fourth time Chelsea have ever lost a two-legged European tie by three or more goals, all coming in the Champions League during the last decade. It was also the first time ever that the Blues have shipped eight goals in such a fixture.
So, how does Rosenior make a success of this season? Well, he could still land silverware, with Chelsea highly-fancied to reach the FA Cup semi-finals, given that they hosts Port Vale, bottom of League One, in the sixth round on Easter weekend.
In the Premier League though, Rosenior is under enormous pressure from Clearlake to deliver Champions League football again for next season. Saturday's defeat to Newcastle means the Blues have won only one of their last five in the league, form that has seen them slide down to sixth, one point below Liverpool and three adrift Aston Villa.
On Saturday evening, Chelsea will visit Hill Dickinson Stadium for the very first time, which is unlikely to be an easy assignment on Merseyside, given that Everton kick off only five points behind. Many fans were sceptical when Rosenior was appointed from within the BlueCo eco-system, and that zeitgeist will only increase if they miss out on top five qualification.