Gary Cahill: 'Top four is Chelsea's ambition'

Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has called on his side to show "character and ambition" in order to secure a top-four spot in the Premier League this season.

The Blues recovered from back-to-back defeats with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace this afternoon, holding off a late rally from their London rivals after Patrick van Aanholt had given them some hope.

Chelsea remain in fifth place, though, and will fall four points off the Champions League places should Tottenham Hotspur beat Bournemouth on Sunday, but Cahill is refusing to give up the chase for the top four.

"We had to show a lot of determination, courage and ambition today. The three points were all that mattered, no matter how we got them. They threw everything at us at the end, which made it difficult late on," he told BT Sport.

"Top four is the ambition. We've put ourselves in a difficult situation and we now have to work hard. The results haven't gone our way since the Bournemouth game and we're in a tough spot. We need to show the same character and ambition we did today to finish in the top four."

Chelsea will now turn their attention to the second leg of their Champions League tie with Barcelona at Camp Nou on Wednesday.