Lamela: Chelsea have given Tottenham top-four chance

Mark Holmes
Erik Lamela: Wants to play in Champions League with Tottenham

Erik Lamela: Wants to play in Champions League with Tottenham

Erik Lamela says Chelsea’s struggles this season have given Tottenham their “best chance” of making the Champions League since he joined.

Tottenham have finished sixth and fifth in the Premier League since Lamela joined the club from Roma in 2013, finishing six points off a top-four spot last season.

They are currently fifth after 12 games, three points behind Manchester United in fourth but 10 clear of last season’s champions Chelsea.

With Spurs still undefeated since the opening day of the season, Lamela has spoken out about his desire to play in Europe’s premier competition.

“Last year against the big teams we did well, just as we have done this year,” Lamela said. “Any team can beat any other in the Premier League and it depends on what happens in the moment.

“This is our best chance (of finishing in the top four).

“The team has improved and also Chelsea are not so well placed in the league, and they were one of the teams expected to be fighting for the top positions.

“I’ve had a great desire to play in the Champions League, ever since I got here. This year we are closer than in other years. At certain times you can see we are a team who can get into the top four but we need to carry on working.

“We are getting better and that is important. This team is young and we have a lot of desire to improve. If you have ambition, you can achieve great things. But we have to keep winning, because Chelsea are a team who can get better in any moment.”

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