Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says that her side are continuing to go from strength-to-strength after beating Manchester United 3-1 in the semi-finals of the FA Women’s Continental League Cup last night.
Fresh off securing the quadruple for the 2020/2021 season with December’s 3-0 Vitality Women’s FA Cup final victory over Arsenal at Wembley, Hayes and her side already have their eyes set on their next piece of silverware.
After qualifying for this year’s FA Women’s Continental League Cup final by beating Manchester United, Hayes said “I really enjoyed it, I knew it was coming. I feel like we’re going from strength-to-strength.
It has not been plain sailing for Chelsea of late with their elimination from the UEFA Women’s Champions League and then being held to a goalless draw by Brighton & Hove Albion in the league last month, however, Hayes clearly believes that her side have turned a corner and the victory over Manchester United was emblematic of that. The Red Devils came into the fixture in fine form and they had defeated Arsenal in the previous round to set up the tie with Chelsea. Yet, despite their recent record, Hayes refused to let her focus deviate away from her own side.
She said “I don’t focus so much on the opponent, my job is how am I going to improve us. We’re showing the efficiency in the finishing phase and I feel there’s a mentality change in the team that is confident in the final third. The only disappointment is that we conceded a goal.”
Despite Chelsea’s ruthless finishing in the match, that goal from Manchester United threatened to derail their momentum. Following the London club’s second goal, Marc Skinner’s side responded immediately with one in kind through Vilde Bøe Risa just as Chelsea were truly in the ascendency and that goal could have easily shifted the tide of the game.
Commenting further on the goal conceded, Hayes said “We were fuming that we gave the goal away. We were disappointed but it didn’t deter us.”
It certainly didn’t deter Chelsea as they responded themselves through Jess Carter to re-establish their two-goal lead which proved to be enough in the end. The Blues could therefore be hitting form at just the right time as they face difficult fixtures against Manchester City and Arsenal in the next month. It could be a season-defining period for Hayes’ side and the mental side of the game could make all the difference.