Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that qualifying for next season’s Champions League is a major aim for his squad.
His side currently sit sixth in the Premier League table with 13 rounds of fixtures remaining.
The top four will automatically qualify for the Champions League, while fifth is also likely to be enough as England currently leads the UEFA association club coefficient rankings.
As well as aiming to secure Champions League qualification, Chelsea hope to add another major European title to their list of honours this season by winning the Europa Conference League.
Maresca spoke at a press conference on Friday morning, just hours before the draw for the Conference League’s round of 16.
He told reporters: ‘We said many times: I think we spent almost the season in top four and with 13 games to go, the target, for sure, is top four. We will try our best to achieve that. Knowing the difficult moment we have now is one of the most important reasons why is because of the injury situation. Five or six significant players out.’
Asked to elaborate on his targets, he added: ‘Im here to win games – to bring this club to fight for titles. The problem is when you win games, you look humble and when you don’t win games, you look like a lack of ambition. Since day one, my intention is to bring this club where it needs to be.’
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, pictured during a training session this week, has said that he is targeting a place in next season’s Champions League
