Chelsea Women’s boss hoping Champions League exploits won’t damage League Cup final prospects

BY PAUL LAGAN
paul@slpmedia.co.uk

Chelsea Women’s boss Emma Hayes will be hoping her players have recovered from their midweek exertions in overcoming Atletico Madrid in the Champions League to be fit and ready for the League Cup final on Sunday.

The Blues face resurgent Bristol City at Watford’s Vicarage Road and, while the west Londoners are odds-on favourites to dispatch Matt Beard’s outfit, and retain the trophy they won for the first time last season, Hayes knows it will be a battle.

She watched City’s league match on Monday when the WSL’s bottom club overcame mid-table Reading 3-2 in a pulsating match.

“That is Bristol right now,” she said. “I texted [interim manager] Matt Beard after the game and told him it was my favourite game this season.”

Chelsea are top of the WSL and Hayes will be warning her players not to be complacent. She said: “This will be a fun final for the fans, but not a walk in the park for anyone. They are quality, they really are brilliant on the counter attack.”

One player fighting to be fit for the final is striker Beth England. She was in the wars on the pitch against Atleti in midweek and was forced off the pitch with what looked like a head injury. Hayes explained: “The medical staff said it was unsafe for her, so she had to come off.”

Another player closer to a return is skipper Magda Eriksson. She missed the past two games with an unspecified injury but was on the bench for the Champions League encounter.

Hayes said: “Magda and Sophie are on the top of their game at the moment – experience matters.”

The Blues will know their Champions League quarter-final opponent and potential semi-final one too when the draw is made today, but to win the coveted title, Hayes feels they have to improve.

The Blues, already 2-0 up from the first leg, were pegged back to a 1-1 draw in Monza, Italy. The Spanish side even missed a penalty when the match was 0-0.

Hayes said: “We came through it while not being at our best.

“We were a bit leggy. Our domestic league is so tough, it took things out of the players when we faced West Ham on Sunday, it took its toll – in and out of possession. To win the Champions League we need to be better than we were on Wednesday.”

Hayes also knows that luck played a major part in Chelsea getting through to the quarter-final.

The Spanish side had two penalties saved in the first leg at Kingsmeadow and the Blues played most of that game with 10 players. Atleti missed another penalty in Monza before they scored from the spot via the trusty right boot of Maren Mjelde.

Chelsea were pegged back with a late equaliser but won 3-1 on aggregate.

Hayes said: “You have seen us at our best last week with 10 players, and even not at our best we are still winning.

“That’s a sign of a good team. To be a great team we need to find other levels, we haven’t won anything yet.”

Chelsea men will be hoping to extend their 11-match unbeaten run under new boss Thomas Tuchel as they travel to Leeds tomorrow.

A win will see the Blues leapfrog Leicester City, albeit for a day, into third place.