Chelsea kickstart the weekend’s Premier League action knowing a victory would move us into fourth position ahead of Newcastle’s fixture against Ipswich. Our other rivals for a Champions League berth next season - Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa - are all in FA Cup semi-final action.

We left it late to secure the points at Craven Cottage, but there is no understating the impact of that result. Cucurella explained what it felt like from the confines of the Chelsea dressing room.

‘The atmosphere was very good with a lot of joy,’ said the Spaniard.

‘It was an important moment for us. We deserved it, coming back at the end. We gained confidence and hopefully it can help us in these last games.’

Fernandez was involved in the winning goal, driving us forward initially and then passing to Pedro Neto, who spun and fired into the roof of the net with time almost up. The midfielder preferred to credit his team-mate for a stunning strike that settled the west London derby.

‘It was all Pedro,’ said Fernandez. ‘It was a quality goal. The move was a good one. It was collectively good.

‘We started playing from the back and Pedro was able to finish. And we were able to take the three points, which was the most important thing. It was a very important victory for us, to keep us up there and to be able to qualify for the Champions League.’

The next step to achieving that target comes at Stamford Bridge on Saturday against an Everton side who have not won at Stamford Bridge in 29 previous visits.

‘It’s important to maintain this good dynamic,’ stressed Fernandez.

‘We know that a home game is important. We come with the momentum from the Fulham victory. It gives us confidence for what is to come.

‘We are preparing this week in the best way to arrive in our best condition to be able to win the game.’

Cucurella agreed with his team-mate that there is great belief among the squad that we can finish in a Champions League place. It is that unity and connection that will be vital in the decisive weeks that remain.

‘We have been up there most of the season,’ noted Cucurella.

‘It is true that we were coming from a somewhat inconsistent streak, but it depends on us. If we win all the remaining games we will be there in the end.

‘We have a lot of confidence in what we do and in the work we have been doing, and hopefully we can have good results and achieve our objective.’