Ahead of this evening cracker against Benfica, Nigerian international, John Obi Mikel. is confident of Chelsea winning the UEFA Champions League and finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
The Blues are currently five points adrift of Arsenal and Tottenham in the battle for a place in the top four and may have to win the Champions League to secure a place in next season’s edition of Europe’s No.1 competition.
Mikel believes the Blues are capable of doing just that but has not given up hope of qualifying via the Premier League.
The Nigerian would like to win every remaining game this season, starting with Wednesday’s Champions League second leg against Benfica, and is hopeful of overhauling either Spurs or the Gunners.
“We still have the league form to get in there,” he told the club’s official website. “Arsenal and Tottenham still have some difficult games, and we have to play Arsenal so who knows what will happen there.
“With our recent good form I still think we can get in, it is tight but we can only keep going.
“Nobody wants to be in the Europa League here, we all want to be in the top competition because we have Champions League players. We don’t want to drop down, so we have to do everything possible to qualify.
“And listen, we can win the Champions League. We still have very good teams to beat though, starting with Benfica, but we can compete with anybody.
“Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid are all great teams so it is looking difficult but we want to do it. First though, we can only focus on Benfica who we know will give us a difficult game.”
Mikel is happy to be playing an important role in Chelsea’s revival after an up-and-down first few months to the campaign on a personal level.
The 24-year-old started the season in the team despite the kidnapping of his father, and then had a spell on the sidelines due to injury over Christmas and New Year
He said: “It was really difficult for me but I carried on with my football and started the season well.
“I was playing games until just before Christmas against Spurs, and then came back and things weren’t going well but I am happy to be playing again now.
“In the last few games I have been selected which is good because there are world-class players who can play there in Michael Essien, Raul Meireles and Oriol Romeu.
“I think the team is playing well, and if the team plays well as a whole it makes it easier for you. With luck as well, it has started to turn in our favour, so whatever we do seems to be working a bit better.
“We want to carry on like this and keep doing well. We have everyone fit and in good shape so we have to keep going.”