A sense of hysteria has gathered around Chelsea in recent weeks. Sustaining performances over 90 minutes has been a struggle, while injuries have bit in key positions, so much so that Maresca was forced into the pragmatism of recalling Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Crystal Palace.

The Premier League relegation strugglers were beaten 3-1 away from home at Stamford Bridge. Despite scoring a goal, Doherty was ultimately unable to help his team get anything from the contest. He stated post-game to Sky Sports: "Everyone knows about Chelsea 's quality. For me it kind of felt like we weren't at the races at the start.