Motivation levels hit by cup exits – Willian

Willian has conceded that motivation levels are low at Chelsea with silverware no longer up for grabs this season.

The Blues have crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup in the last fortnight and, although Guus Hiddink deserves great credit for steering the side up the Premier League table after a poor start, they remain outsiders to claim a top-six finish. 

“It is difficult to stay motivated when you cannot win a title anymore,” said Willian. 

“But we have to keep going. We play for Chelsea and have to keep going until the very end.”

Chelsea twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with West Ham on Saturday in the league and required a controversial 89th-minute Cesc Fabregas penalty to earn a share of the spoils. 

Willian, though, feels Hiddink’s men were unfortunate not to claim maximum points from the Stamford Bridge clash. 

“I think we deserved to win. We played well, especially in the second half,” the Brazil international told Sky Sports.

“We played very well and created a lot of chances. But in the end it finished 2-2. We fought right until the end and we have to continue like this in the remainder of the season.

“We are very happy that Cesc scored two goals for us. We have to take some rest now and continue like this. 

“It was a very difficult moment for us when Andy Carroll scored the 2-1 for West Ham because we were playing very well at the time. We kept on going, though, and created so many chances. We could have scored more, but we didn’t. 

“But I am happy with the performance of the team. In the end, we deserved to win, but the draw was alright because we scored so late. We must play like this every game.”