Chelsea forward Pernille Harder says that the club do not have a priority order for trophies that they hope to lift this season.
The Blues enjoyed more domestic dominance in 2021/2022 but the quest for that long-awaited first UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy goes on with Chelsea being eliminated from last season’s competition in the group stage.
When speaking in a Chelsea media day, Harder said that the South West Londoners do not rank winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League above lifting another league title or vice-versa.
“I don’t think we prioritise any of them, we want to win both of them,” Harder said. “The league and the Champions League are very important.
“I think we have a good, big squad this season, which is a big advantage to do good in all the tournaments as we can have some rotations.”
Chelsea begin the new season against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Harder has a good goalscoring record against The Hammers, helping herself to two hat-tricks and a brace in her time representing The Blues. The player went on to say that she isn’t entirely sure of the reasons why West Ham United are her favourite opponents in terms of goals scored.
She said “I don’t know why I have managed to score two hat-tricks against West Ham. When you play against them, they have a lot of man-marking which opens up space which I like. Maybe that’s why but maybe I have just had some good days.”
Chelsea are set to be roared on by a huge crowd at Stamford Bridge this weekend as the club make their return to their spiritual home for the first time since 2019. The occasion is an exciting one for Harder who has never played at The Bridge.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Harder said. “I’ve never played there before so I’m looking forward to being there and playing in front of hopefully, a lot of fans. It’s great that we get to play there and we can have a lot of supporters in the stands. It’s good for women’s football.”
Chelsea’s opening Barclays Women’s Super League fixture of the season against West Ham United kicks-off at 12.30pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.