'Season will only be viewed as a success through the prism of CL qualification'

BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions as we approach the final handful of games.

Dave asked: Hi Phil, what would say needs to happen to make Chelsea's season a success? A top five finish? Uefa Conference League trophy, or both? Do you think they are in a better place now than a year ago?

Phil replied: Hello, Dave.

Chelsea is a really strange one. I actually thought they might be title contenders around November/December when they were looking so good and Cole Palmer was in such great form.

Since then it has all gone very flat, with Chelsea fans clearly having reservations about Enzo Maresca's style.

Obviously, winning a trophy is always success – and Chelsea should win the Europa Conference League - but I do believe their season will only be viewed as a success through the prism of Champions League qualification.

For a club of Chelsea's stature and ambition, qualifying for the Champions League is actually more important than winning the Conference League.