Chelsea secured their qualification for the quarter-finals of this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League with a 4-0 victory over Vllaznia last night and manager Emma Hayes now has her sights firmly set upon winning the group.
The Blues are currently top of Group A with 13 points from five games while Matchday 6 opponents Paris Saint-Germain are three points behind in second. The pair will meet at Stamford Bridge next Thursday to determine who will top the group.
When speaking after the match, Chelsea boss Hayes said that she was pleased to see her side qualify for the quarter-finals with a game to spare. It is a very different picture to last season when The Blues were dumped out of the competition at the group stage. Hayes is now targeting ending the group stage in top spot.
“I wouldn’t say ‘relief’ is the right word,” Hayes said when discussing qualification. “We had the opportunity to close last year (but were knocked out). The questions in and around the group stage last year we don’t have to answer any more.
“This team does so well to learn in its hardest moments. We understand what the group stage is in this competition and I think we’ve navigated them really well this season. Our objective now is to finish top of the group.”
Despite Chelsea now being in the quarter-finals, the team won’t be winding down for the Christmas break. A hard week of training is ahead with Hayes not allowing standards to slip ahead of the Paris Saint-Germain fixture.
When speaking about whether Chelsea can play with freedom in their final group game, she said “No, it doesn’t because I don’t think you can switch it on and off. The minute you down tools in something….I don’t like us when that happens.
“There are two conversations on the table for the team – the first is how hard we’re going to train next week and the second is how are we going to finish top of the group. Everything else is nothing. I don’t want to hear about Christmas or the quarter-finals, I’m not interested in any of that, just what we need to do to win the game next week.”
Chelsea’s final group stage match against Paris Saint-Germain takes place at 8pm on Thursday evening. Tickets for the match remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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