Desailly desperate for Champions League return

Chelsea captain Marcel Desailly revealed how watching Real Madrid’s Champions League masterclass against Manchester United had merely increased his desire to take part in the competition next season.

Desailly is determined to ensure Chelsea hold onto fourth place in the Barclaycard Premiership table, having established a gap of four points between them and Everton, with Liverpool a further point behind.

It was three years ago that Chelsea last took part in the Champions League, being eliminated at the quarter-final stages by Barcelona, and 34-year-old Desailly wants another taste of Europe’s premier club competition.

“I watched the highlights of the Manchester United game against Real Madrid. It was such high quality and that’s why we want to play against these kind of teams next season,” he told Chelsea TV.

The Chelsea captain returned to the Blues’ starting line-up last weekend in the 2-1 win at Sunderland after proving his fitness following a persistent hip injury.

“It’s been strange for me over this period without playing, but the team have done well. The game against Sunderland also gave us some extra motivation for the Champions League,” he added.

“It was difficult for me to start again, but I feel well and I hope I’m going to play against Bolton this weekend at Stamford Bridge.”

Chelsea were without five first-team squad members through injury for their win at the Stadium of Light, with boss Claudio Ranieri having expressed his hope that all of them would be in contention to face Bolton.

Jesper Gronkjaer (groin), Emmanuel Petit (calf) and Mario Stanic (Achilles) have since received treatment, while Celestine Babayaro and Eidur Gudjohnsen have been recovering from heavy colds.