Chelsea Under-21s have suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Charlton Athletic in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.
On the back of overcoming Bromley in the first of three games in Group C of the Southern Section, Filipe Coelho's side were ideally placed to secure a place in the knockout stages.
However, qualification is now in doubt after they went down to the League One outfit at The Valley, conceding goals at the start of each half and one deep into injury time.
Miles Leaburn, who has failed to score in 173 minutes of league football during 2024-25, netted the first two strikes in the 10th and 52nd minute respectively.
Both of the 20-year-old's goals came via headers before Tyreece Campbell lashed the ball inside the near post in the 94th minute.
Campbell had also failed to score in League One or the EFL Cup this campaign in 914 minutes, with his effort bringing relief to Nathan Jones and the player himself as the Addicks guaranteed a top-two spot.
Chelsea Under-21s will still qualify for the next round should they defeat Cambridge United on away territory on November 5.
Clear selection hint before EFL Cup tie
The young Blues lined up with each of Deivid Washington and Tyrique George in their starting lineup, two players who featured in the squad for the EFL Cup third-round meeting with Barrow in September.
With the two attackers featuring for 60 and 69 minutes respectively, they will not play any part of Wednesday's EFL Cup showdown at Newcastle United.
As a result, head coach Enzo Maresca appears ready to name an experienced squad for the trip to Tyneside, potentially including players who did not feature in the Conference League fixture at Panathinaikos last week.
Ben Chilwell, Cesare Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka will all come into the group as they bid to add to their limited game time. body check tags ::
