Azpilicueta says Chelsea face crucial fortnight

Cesar Azpilicueta says Chelsea are facing a crucial fortnight as the Blues bid to succeed on all four fronts. Azpilicueta is aware of how important the next few games will be in determining the fate of the club’s season as Monday’s FA Cup fifth-round match against Manchester United will be followed by second leg of Chelsea’s Europa League tie with Malmo, the League Cup final against Manchester City and the Premier League visit of Tottenham Hotspur.

The Spaniard has urged Chelsea to show the level of consistency of earlier this season as Maurizio Sarri’s side gear up for the run-in. “We have been inconsistent and it’s not the way of reaching the targets because we know, especially in the Premier League, how tough it can be,” Azpilicueta told chelseafc.com. “We need to be consistent. It is true that you cannot play every game the way you want to play, sometimes you have difficult opponents, but we have had a lot of ups and downs.

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“For Chelsea it is not our level and we know that. We need to get it right, going in the right direction, because in the next couple of weeks we will play the whole season and we have to be ready for it. “In 15 days we can be with a trophy, we can be in the next round of the FA Cup. Obviously every time is closer to the final, it is the quarter-final if we get through Man United. In the Europa League we will be playing until the international break if we get through as well. So every game is like a final. “We know that in the Premier League we don’t have room for mistakes so the next big game, which will be at home against Tottenham, it’s a derby, it’s a special game, and we have to be ready, but we will have to go step by step starting on Monday.”