Blues set sights on Man U
NORWICH: Guus Hiddink has set Chelsea the target of over-taking Manchester United by the end of the Premier League campaign.
Winning the Champions League and the FA Cup are the top priorities for last season’s champions, who moved up to eighth place in the table thanks to a 2-1 win at Norwich City on Tuesday.
A top four finish has long been established as the norm at Stamford Bridge in the Roman Abramovich era, but Hiddink knows that it remains a tough task to achieve that aim this term.
United, in fifth, seem more catchable and were five points ahead, although that could change after their game against Watford yesterday.
Fifth spot will qualify the team that finishes there for the Europa League, as will winning the FA Cup.
“Are they catchable?” said Hiddink when asked about United. “Well, first of all, we’re happy. It’s not Chelsea standard to be happy to be out of the relegation zone, and sit back and relax a bit.
“We have to set new targets now with the ambition of Chelsea in the direction of Europe.
“We have a tight schedule — Stoke, PSG, Everton — and the squad is not very, very broad, so we hope everyone is on board.
“If everyone is available, we’d like to go as high as possible towards the European spots.”
Chelsea took the lead at Norwich after just 39 seconds when Kenedy scored and Diego Costa doubled the lead in firsthalf stoppage time, albeit from an offside position.
That gave them enough of a cushion to repel a spirited fightback from Norwich, who saw Nathan Redmond pull one back.
Hiddink made it clear he was happy with the result but the performance could have been better.
“We have now won a few games in a row, which gives satisfaction of course,” he said.