Napoli will always consider themselves one of Italian football's most storied clubs, so to see them way down towards the bottom end of the UCL league phase table ahead of the final matches was a big surprise.
All on the line for both teams
Their opponents, Chelsea, were looking for the victory that would not only eliminate the Partnopei from European competition entirely, but also hand them the three points which would take them through automatically.
Both teams struggled in their last UCL match, with Napoli unable to overcome a dogged Copenhagen side (1-1), and the Blues indebted to Moises Caicedo for scoring the winner against Pafos.
The hosts could point to a 25-match unbeaten run in all competitions at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with two Champions League wins and one draw forming part of that epic run.
By contrast, Chelsea hadn't won away from Stamford Bridge in the UCL this season, having lost two games and drawn the other, so, on paper, the Partnopei had the edge.
Five changes from Rosenior
Liam Rosenior made five changes to the starting XI which faced Pafos, whilst Antonio Conte's two suggested he's been more than happy with the output - at least domestically - of his squad.
What the vocal Italian won't have been happy with is the way in which his team allowed Chelsea to dominate the opening quarter hour.
It wasn't only that the Blues were firing off efforts at will, but that no one from Napoli was getting themselves in dangerous positions in the attacking third of the pitch.
Indeed, Rasmus Hojlund, who alongside Scott McTominay had scored virtually all of the Partnopei's goals in the competition, was barely involved in the early exchanges.
His pathetic 18 total passes in the time he was on the pitch were the worst output of his entire squad. Not great when you're being looked towards to score the goals to keep you alive in the premier European competition.
Early penalty to break the deadlock
Juan Jesus' inadvertent handball gave Chelsea the chance to break the deadlock from the spot, and Enzo Fernandez promptly obliged.
A 12th consecutive penalty success meant you had to go back to 28th October 2020 for the last time Chelsea failed to convert from 12 yards (Krasnodar, penalty missed by Jorginho).
Oddly enough, despite it being so early in the match, it would be the Argentinian's only touch in the box for the entire game, as he was well marshalled in midfield by McTominay, who followed him everywhere.
The hosts began to work the wide areas and were finding some joy in their one-to-ones with Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella, whilst Wesley Fofana was being kept on his toes more centrally, a theme that continued throughout the game.
Napoli come roaring back
By the end of proceedings, Fofana's four interceptions and five clearances were more than anyone from either side, but a sense of something building was evident as early as the half hour, with Conte's side coming more into the match.
As Napoli squeezed up high, an attempted clearance fell to Antonio Vergara, and he didn't need asking twice to bear down on Chelsea's defence, shrugging off both Reece James and Fofana as he pirouetted through the back four and slammed home his first UCL goal of the season.
Even better was to follow exactly 10 minutes later, when the ball down the channel once again caused problems. Once Mathias Oliveira fired in his low cross, there was nothing stopping Hojlund from driving in his first goal of the month with what turned out to be his only touch in the Chelsea box all game.
It would also be his first against Chelsea in five appearances, and certainly put a different complexion on things at half-time, with the visitors knowing that they'd have to do something special in the second half to qualify automatically.
Lots of effort from the hosts... and then a sucker punch
As you might expect of a Conte side, they certainly began to put in the effort after half-time, to let their opponents know that they'd have to be willing to battle them toe-to-toe in order to walk away with the spoils.
Vergara led the way with 18 total duels attempted, whilst McTominay, Hojlund and Alessandro Buongiorno (nine each) were all playing their part.
And then they were hit by a sucker punch, and what a goal it was, too.
There didn't appear to be any danger, but Joao Pedro just kept walking across the Napoli defence until he spotted an angle and unleashed a fierce drive that Alex Meret had no chance of saving.
From then on, it was all Chelsea until the same player popped up with his side's third, sending Napoli out of Europe entirely in the process.
Lack of attacking verve to blame
It meant that Napoli had lost a home game after leading at halftime in the Champions League for the first time since 2017 against Real Madrid (17 games without defeat), whilst Chelsea had won after trailing at halftime in the competition for the first time since 2017 against Atletico Madrid (eight games).
If Conte tries to make sense of the match in the aftermath, given his side's five shots on goal were the joint most that Chelsea had allowed against them in this year's UCL, he might want to cast an eye on the passing stats of some of his players.
McTominay playing only two completed passes forward into attackers across 90 minutes is the standout stat, though there are plenty more that tell the story.
When chasing the game in the final 15, Hojlund receiving only four total passes from his teammates isn't going to help you win matches.
At least Napoli have the consolation of being able to concentrate solely on Serie A concerns now, and no European sojourns may actually help them in this regard.
