It may only be September but Chelsea already have a lot of noise to block out after a sluggish start to the season and must also find a new head coach, after Thomas Tuchel was sacked on Wednesday morning.
The transfer window has not even been closed a week and heading into the match against Dinamo Zagreb debuts were being made, the club had showed character against West Ham, and the Blues remained in the top six of the Premier League.
When boos reigned down as Chelsea came out to warm up, it was obvious some noise would be difficult to drown out in Zagreb, but when the Champions League music hit and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lined up for kick-off, it was difficult not to feel a sense of optimism given Chelsea's history in the competition.
A trip to Europe to rekindle the magic did not take long to descend into a performance lacking chemistry. A ball out from the back, a flick on from Bruno Petkovic, and Mislav Orsic soon beat Wesley Fofana in a footrace and nudged the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga to send the home fans into jubilation. The noise dialled up a level.
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There were moments where Chelsea threatened to break through Dinamo's discipline but in the aftermath of the goal, just 13 minutes in, the Blues only became more ineffective. Misplaced passes, overstretched tackles and a lack of energy. In contrast, the combination between Petkovic and Orsic was simple but having a consistent impact on a Blues backline that did not have Thiago Silva's authority to lean on.
There was a lot to turn around at half-time.
Cesar Azpilicueta was the player sacrificed and Hakim Ziyech introduced as Tuchel switched to a back four in the hopes of turning their first half possession into something more productive. Play did open up with Ziyech becoming creator to first knock a tempting ball across the six yard box before Mateo Kovacic found Ben Chilwell and his sliding touch allowed Aubameyang to finish. However, the offside flag was quickly up with the wing-back falling foul.
Tuchel spoke about Aubameyang's hunger and invited his new striker to prove a point against Dinamo ahead of the game, but conceded he was not ready for 90 minutes. Before an hour was up he was replaced along with Mateo Kovacic by Armando Broja and Jorginho.
The young Albania international wasted little time producing a clever run and shot to test Dominik Livakovic, bringing a hint of dynamism Chelsea had been lacking for large stretches of the game. Chelsea looked more authoritative and broached Dinamo's box more frequently but Livakovic was not tested often enough.
More substitutes arrived in the shape of Marc Cucurella and Christian Pulisic and the shape saw more alterations, but it spoke a great deal of the performance that Raheem Sterling's fury appeared directed at himself rather than the fact he was replaced as he made his way to the dugout.
The Blues pressed and put in a better display as the game went on but Ziyech's late shot from inside the six-yard-box being blasted off Livakovic before the offside flag was once again raised felt indicative of the evening at Stadion Maksimir.
Nerves and tension ramped up on both sides as Chelsea earned free-kicks all surrounding the box but time and again the wall was not beaten and the target not hit.
When the full-time whistle was blown, and quite frankly before it, the noise behind Dinamo's goal was impossible to ignore, though perhaps Tuchel did his best as he headed straight down the touchline towards the pits of the stadium. His players were not far behind other than for deliberations with the referee.
Dinamo Zagreb took it all in. First on the floor and then with the fans. They ensured the noise was maintained well after the game was over.
The noise for Chelsea may only just be beginning. More than £200million spent in the transfer window left little room to not succeed with Todd Boehly watching on and despite being early in the season and with Tuchel seemingly unable to explain the performance against Dinamo, blaming himself and his players, he has run out of time to find the answers to solve the puzzle.
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