Cesar Azpilicueta cautions Chelsea teammates to not lose ANY other game

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London, March 7: Defender Cesar Azpilicueta has fired a stern warning to his Chelsea team-mates insisting that they cannot afford to lose another game if they want to secure a top-four spot this season.

The Blues are struggling to maintain a winning run in the Premier League this time after winning it last season. They already got shocking stick in the hands of Bournemouth and Watford last month as they lost two quick consecutive matches, conceding seven goals. But somehow averted the downturn and defeated West Brom 4-0 and salvaged a 1-1 draw with high-flying Barcelona in Champions League.

Following the Barcelona tie, hopes were high from their fans and the confidence among the team and supporters were beginning to show.

However, they again succumbed to the pressure and all hard work went in vain as they lost two back to match big matches against Manchester United and Manchester City which now has placed them outside top four, five points below fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

And now with only nine matches left in the season, including vital home games against Spurs and Liverpool defender Azpilicueta has stated that retrieval of their position is very much possible but for that, they cannot afford to drop any more points in the league.

He said: “We have lost a lot of games already and we don’t have space to make another error.

“We have to go game by game, try to win all of our fixtures and qualify for the Champions League. We have a massive game against Crystal Palace at home on Saturday and we have to focus on the nine games we have left to get that Champions League spot.”

It will be the second time in three years should Chelsea miss out on top four again. However, like 2012 they can reclaim a UCL spot if they manage to win Champions League.

Many fans are also vouching for the team to fully focus on winning the European trophy to secure the UCL spot for next season however the Spanish defender suggested they are currently not in a position to prioritise any game over another at the moment and will have to look at all the games the same possible way.

“Winning the competition this season is another way back into the Champions League,” he said. “But we have to try to do well in both.

“We know we can’t waste a chance to get the qualification through the Champions League. We have three targets to aim for this season, including the FA Cup, and we need to go for all of them.”

Chelsea will play Crystal Palace this weekend before engaging at Camp Nou in a daunting task to overcome Barcelona in the second leg of round 16 of UCL.