Gary Cahill believes it will need a ‘very, very surprising’ turn of events for Chelsea to add Champions League qualification to their FA Cup final appearance.
Manchester United lie in wait in the May 19 finale after the Blues overcame Southampton 2-0 in Sunday’s semi-final, with Olivier Giroud’s effort early in the second half added to by substitute Alvaro Morata.
That Wembley return offers a chance to atone for last year’s surprise FA Cup final loss to Arsenal – and perhaps send manager Antonio Conte off in style as speculation mounts over his future after an underwhelming title defence.
Gary Cahill believes it will be a big ask for Chelsea to secure Champions League football
Chelsea are five points off a top-four spot with four matches remaining and skipper Cahill taking a realistic approach.
‘I mean, I am not being negative by any stretch, but the games are running out and the teams in there are very good, so if they do let it up it’ll be very, very surprising,’ the defender said.
‘(There is) that gap and the point difference, but the obvious thing is all we can do is win our games.
‘We got a decent result at Burnley and we just need to keep winning.’
Alvaro Morata celebrates his goal as Chelsea beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup on Sunday
Chelsea head to struggling Swansea next Saturday evening, before back-to-back home games against Liverpool and Huddersfield are followed by a trip to Newcastle.
The approach at St James’ Park will depend very much on the Blues’ league hopes, given a clash with former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho in the FA Cup final looming large.
‘We need it and we wanted it,’ Cahill said of the semi-final performance.
‘It was important that we tried to reach the final, so it gives us a good opportunity now.
‘The final didn’t go great for us last year, so we want to try and make amends, but we did the job that we needed to do.’
Cahill, in action on Sunday, insists he’s realistic with Chelsea’s targets for the end of the season
Cahill was happy to be back playing after some time out of the side this term and was happy with the overall team display.
‘I thought individually there was good performances and that will help us moving forwards and to have a decent run-in to the end of the season,’ he said.
‘(Giroud and Morata) both got on the score sheet, so I am delighted with that, but most important was obviously just to get the win but they made it difficult.
‘I felt like it was a really professional performance.
‘I felt that we controlled it even at 0-0, nobody kind of lost their nerve it at any stage and we managed the game very well to finish obviously 2-0.’