Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta has declared that his side must forget excuses of tiredness and focus on winning matches to secure Champions League qualification.

The Blues suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday, leaving them with the Europa League and a top-four finish in the Premier League to focus on as their marathon campaign draws to a close.

Azpilicueta has conceded that fatigue is natural for the Blues as they prepare to face Fulham tomorrow night in their 60th game of the season.

The Guardian quotes the Spaniard as saying as saying: "We've played 15 games more than Manchester City and we'd played three days before the semi-final in Moscow. That's the reality. We're professionals and do our best to prepare for the games as best we can but, after a match, it's normal that we feel a little bit more tired than the other team.

"It's difficult but now it's the last month and the best games are coming along. We've played one semi-final, now we're going to play the Europa League semi-final. We're fighting for third place and to get into the Champions League. Now we need to be focused. We need to win matches and it doesn't matter the way to do it.

"At the end of the season we will look at the whole balance of the season [and judge it] but now it's one month of competition and it's important to be focused. We've wanted to win trophies from the start of the season, all of them, and now the only one we can win is the Europa League. We'll try and do that. But reaching the Champions League is also massive for us for next season."

The 23-year-old has made 39 appearances so far this season in his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.