Reece James has set his sights on leading Chelsea back to the Champions League after starring on his comeback against Nottingham Forest.
The right-back made an instant impact during his first Blues appearance since October, assisting Nicolas Jackson’s winner in a 3-2 win at the City Ground.
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It is the latest victory in a late-season resurgence from Mauricio Pochettino’s men which has seen them rise to seventh and into reckoning for European qualification.
And James, 24, believes a club like Chelsea should always be competing in Europe and wants to see his side rise even further up the table in the coming seasons.
The England international said: “We’re finding a good level and staying consistent week in, week out. We are still young and during the season we’ve had a few off days.
“But on the whole we’ve improved and we’re coming strong towards the end of the season.
“Europe is one of the highest levels in club football and we are one of the biggest clubs in football.
“So we want to be pushing each season to be knocking on the door for the Champions League. That’s our aim.”
The winner! 👌#CFC | #NfoChe pic.twitter.com/tT46RdJr9q
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 11, 2024
European dream
Despite an inconsistent campaign, Chelsea can still mathematically finish as high as fifth in the Premier League.
They trail fifth-placed Tottenham by six points and are level on 57 points with Newcastle in sixth.
Leapfrogging either team during the final two set of fixtures would land the West Londoners a place in next season’s Europa League, with seventh qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
