Vela not expecting Real Sociedad Champions League return

Carlos Vela does not expect Real Sociedad to qualify for next season’s Champions League despite enjoying a strong campaign in LaLiga.

The club last qualified for Europe’s elite competition when finishing fourth in Spain’s top flight in 2012-13, though three unremarkable seasons followed as they failed to consolidate their position at that level.

But this season under Eusebio Sacristan, the Basque club are threatening to reach those heights once again and they occupy fifth after 23 matches.

Nine-goal Willian Jose has been particularly impressive following his switch from Las Palmas, while Vela and homegrown talent Mikel Oyarzabal have impressed on the flanks.

But the Mexican star is not getting ahead of himself in terms of the club’s European aspirations.

“Honestly, I don’t think about playing in the Champions League again,” he told AS. “But if you win the games there are you have more chances of the Champions League.

“It is very difficult because there are other teams that have these targets too. We dream of many things, but we do not treat them like targets because this changes a lot and you can set other goals.

“So far we deserve to play in Europe and it would be very nice to play in Europe again with these team-mates.

“We have seen that we can fight any team and if we maintain our form we can fight for Europe to the end.”