David Luiz Talks Chelsea's Champions League Absence, Top-4 Battle

David Luiz has revealed the difficulty he has had in dealing with Chelsea's absence from the UEFA Champions League this season.

The Blues, who also spent the 2016-17 campaign without any European football after finishing 10th the season before, have been plying their trade in the UEFA Europa League this season having finished fifth last season.

Per Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard, Luiz said:

"It is important for our club. We are a big club and big clubs want to play in the Champions League.

"I have missed it. It's great to be there, to try to play against the best teams in the world, the best players, the best coaches. Everybody has been missing that.

"I watch a lot of football, but when the Champions League anthem comes on I miss it. It's hard, but we have to be humble and understand that we didn't do the job one year ago and we had to pay the consequences. We have to be mature enough to understand that."

The Brazilian spoke after Chelsea drew 1-1 with Manchester United on Sunday, a result that kept them three points ahead of the Red Devils with two matches of the campaign remaining:

Marcos Alonso cancelled out Juan Mata's early opener to ensure the two sides shared the points.

Chelsea author Mark Worrall thought that result could prove decisive for the Blues in their bid to finish in the top four:

The Blues, Arsenal and United are all winless in their last three Premier League matches, while Tottenham Hotspur have lost two of their last three either side of a 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Luiz added:

"The last few games for everybody has been tough. People have started to joke that no one wants to be in the top four because everyone is losing points.

"It's not easy for anybody. We saw Manchester City fighting for the title at Burnley and it was difficult for them until the end.

"Sometimes people forget to respect the other sides, they train every day, they have a philosophy, have great players, great coaches, great fans and they try to fight also."

None of the sides fighting for the last two places in the top four have played well in recent weeks, but for Spurs and Chelsea, that has at least allowed them to remain where they are even if they've not managed to cement their positions.

Like Arsenal, Chelsea can also secure a place in next season's Champions League if they win the Europa League. They're in the semi-final, where they'll face Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg on Thursday.

Although it has been a shaky first season under manager Maurizio Sarri—with a 6-0 defeat to Manchester City being a particular low point—a major trophy and Champions League qualification could still make the campaign a successful one.