Rafael Benitez praised his side after their 3-0 victory at Fulham and wants more of the same against his former club Liverpool on Sunday.
Chelsea’s interim manager is sure to receive a hero’s welcome on his return to Anfield, where he won the Champions League during a memorable spell as boss.
His task now is to guide his current club to a place in next season’s tournament – and they took a big step towards securing one by winning the derby at Craven Cottage and moving back up to third in the table.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s game, Benitez said: “I am looking forward to going back. I have a lot of friends there.
“The main thing for us is to stay in the top three. I want us to win and then afterwards I will wish them [Liverpool] all the best.
“The most important thing is the team and to keep winning. We must have belief we can stay up there.
“As I said before, I think the race for the top four will go right to the end.”
John Terry’s brace and a stunning strike from David Luiz gave Chelsea a resounding win despite Fulham dominating much of the first half.
It was the perfect response to Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester City.
“We finished the game against City really well, so we had confidence,” Benitez insisted.
“We knew this game was a derby and that we had to do well and we did – we scored three goals and kept a clean sheet, so I’m really pleased.
“We knew when we scored the second goal they would come at us and we would have space.
“The team improved defensively in the second half and were able to control the game.”
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