Paul Green says that Chelsea may need to show good patience against KS Vllaznia at Kingsmeadow this evening.
The Blues face the Albanian minnows in their second group match in this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Vllaznia arrive in England unbeaten in 12 matches away from home while they held Real Madrid for more than 50 minutes on Matchday 1 before slipping to a 2-0 defeat.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Green said that while a fast start is important for Chelsea, showing good patience is key.
“We have got to be looking for a fast start for sure but I think that patience will be key in the game as well,” Green told FAWSL Full-Time. “If that early goal doesn’t come, we have just got to keep following that same process – be nice and patient, have good ball speed across the pitch then look to open them up and when those gaps come, we’ve got to exploit them and be clinical in the final third.
“It is a mixture of both, looking for a fast start and being patient, a bit like we did at Brighton. We didn’t score in the first half and could have quite easily got frustrated with that and start to force passes or change the game plan but I thought that if we showed good patience, the chances would eventually come. It will be a game along similar lines where patience is going to be key.”
Going on to discuss the challenge which latest opponents Vllaznia will present, Green said that he expects to come up against a side that will be well-organised.
He said “We are expecting a tough game, they will be very well-organised, well-structured defensively. They played very well against Real Madrid, two goals in the second half ultimately got Real Madrid the win but they were very difficult to break down. We are expecting them to come to Kingsmeadow with a similar approach to the game. They did very well in their league last year and they are continuing to do that this year.
“We are looking forward to a tough game but we know that if we perform to our best, we will have more than enough to get the result that we want.”
Chelsea’s UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage match against Vllaznia kicks-off at 8pm this evening. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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