Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says that a good performance from her side in this afternoon’s FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup final means everything to her.
The Blues face current trophy holders Arsenal in the 2023/2024 final at Molineux in Wolverhampton.
Chelsea have been on the losing side in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 finals and manager Hayes says that her team are well-aware of her expectations going into their latest tie.
“I’ve watched our last two performances in Conti Cup finals and let me be clear about this, the team know exactly how I feel about this final in terms of showing up, showing ourselves,” Hayes said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “I don’t care if it’s important to them, it’s absolutely important to me.”
Reflecting on what will be required to win this season’s final, Hayes said that her side need to show up and perform, particularly in the first half given how matches between Chelsea and Arsenal have panned out this season.
She said “You have to show up on the day, it’s two top level teams, both are capable of winning the game and both have their own qualities. You’ve still got to show up and present yourselves the way that gives you the best chance.
“It’s a final and as always in these games, the team that shows up strong, particularly in the first half as we’ve already seen in the games this season, [will win]. You better show up from the off, if you don’t, it can make it a little bit difficult.”
Arsenal were a shade of themselves as they were easily beaten 3-1 by Chelsea in a Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Stamford Bridge just a couple of weeks ago. Hayes is anticipating variation in The Gunners’ tactics this time around.
“It’s about getting the strategy right knowing that we are playing against a tit-for-tat team that we know very well,” Hayes said. “They know they didn’t perform well in their last game, so I expect them to be better.
“Whether Arsenal go into a three-box-three with their possession and pose a different challenge with their low full-back, they might do that. They are very clear in their playing style.
“With us being a little deeper in the last game, of course, they will try to pose different questions but equally, we have to pose different challenges to them. I quite like that part of it, I guess it doesn’t get boring when you play a team two weeks’ later. You’ve got to find different ways to compete against them.”
The 2023/2024 FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup final kicks-off at 3pm this afternoon. Tickets remain available and can be purchased by clicking here.
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