What pleases elite football managers more – performances or results? Often the former guides the latter, but on occasions where games do not necessarily follow suit, winning is king, Chelsea boss Emma Hayes tells Sky Sports in an exclusive chat.
“One hundred per cent. We have to get the result,” she replies steadfastly, when asked if she favours positive process or the best possible outcome at this late stage of another nail-biting campaign.
The Blues are adept at matching style with substance, but a tricky meeting with a particularly stubborn Liverpool side nearly caused a rare miscalculation midweek. No doubt prying eyes on both sides of Manchester were hopeful of a stumble.
When the stakes are this high, slip-ups happen. Some choke. Others shine.
- Stream WSL games live with a NOW pass
- Why Arsenal’s achievement matters
- Women’s Super League table | Women’s Super League fixtures
- Get Sky Sports | Download the Sky Sports App
Chelsea Women
Everton Women
Sunday 7th May 6:30pm Kick off 6:45pm
Chelsea almost always light the way. They are a team schooled in the businesslike notion of ‘by any means necessary’ – presumably a prerequisite for any player wishing to pull on the famous blue jersey on any given matchday.
Trending
- Sterling: One of lowest points in my career | Next manager must have final say
- Russell tops Hamilton in Miami practice as Mercedes impress LIVE!
- Russell leads Hamilton as Merc show surprise Miami pace
- Transfer Centre LIVE! ‘Chelsea eye £40m deal for Inter Milan’s Onana’
- Sheikh Jassim still waiting for a response on Man Utd bid
- Spurs held Nagelsmann talks in last few days – Sky Germany
- Messi apologises for Saudi trip | ‘I’m waiting for what PSG want to do with me’
- Sky Sports agrees new five-year EFL deal | Over 1000 matches per season!
- PL Predictions: No bounce for Leeds at relentless Man City
- Brighton seal club-record deal for Watford’s Joao Pedro
- Video
- Latest News
“I want to see some big performances from players in this last block. That’s my challenge, to keep stimulating that response,” Hayes continued. “Expectations are higher for us than anyone else.”
Champions, a tag which has become customary in west London, know how to win, and winning is addictive. In recent years Chelsea have become increasingly territorial over their WSL crown.
Also See:
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Chelsea Women’s manager Emma Hayes believes lessons learned from their European run will be essential as they challenge for first place in the closing stages of the WSL season.
Success has not always been always pretty – as evidenced on Wednesday – but when the chips are down Hayes’ side have an unrivalled ability to deliver. And on the fraught occasion they don’t there’s always their trump card. Her name is Sam Kerr. The ace in the pack.
“She’s such a key player for us,” Hayes eulogised, when asked to reflect on Kerr’s contribution this term. “Losing Pernille [Harder] and Fran [Kirby] for such a large part of the season, we’ve lost something like 66 per cent of our goal contributions, so Sam has had to find different ways to be involved.
“It’s not just about coming up clutch in big moments, it’s all the other stuff. She’s a great team player, she doesn’t always get the recognition for the work she does out of possession. She’s a super talent, someone who I think has adapted brilliantly. She’s become a player we can rely on.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Chelsea and Liverpool.
This season’s title race has been loaded with a heady mix of incident and drama. It’s kept Chelsea honest. They have been the dominant force of the domestic landscape for some time now, but challengers are circling, hoping to dislodge the Londoners from the comfort of their thrown.
That will not be easy. To overthrow a king, or in this case queen, you must be strategic – outsmart your opponent. Yet Chelsea’s nous is the most impressive part of their well-oiled machine. Just when you sense a vulnerability, as Liverpool did most recently, they spring another surprise. A different solution. A trap.
It’s all a clever rouse.
Datawrapper Due to your consent preferences, you’re not able to view this. Open Privacy Options
Hayes continued: “When you’re the champions every opponent sets up in the most extreme way. Usually five at the back but sometimes six.
“There have been games I’ve watched this year and thought teams set up a certain way against us and they won’t against Manchester United. Being champions, it does that.
“Every week we go into games accepting teams are going to sit five or six bodies in the deepest lines. We just have to find a way beyond it, no matter what they put out.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Our pick of the best goals from April in the Women’s Super League.
The air of inevitability that follows each Chelsea display is astounding. Against Liverpool their sting came in the 86th minute of the game – no panic, no fear, just trust. They simply refuse to be denied.
In Premier League circles, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City operate with similar levels of certitude. They are the kings of their playground – Chelsea the queens of theirs.
Much can be said about the impressiveness of Chelsea’s stay at the top. There have been few blots on their copybook. But competing on multiple fronts for such a long period of time tends to take its toll, even on the best sides, and with a points deficit still to make up, is Chelsea’s fortitude at risk of waning?
Image: Sam Kerr celebrates her late winner for Chelsea against Liverpool in crucial WSL win
“When you get into the position [of winning] you get used to it,” Hayes continued, having collected five WSL titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups during her decade-long reign. “People ask me ‘how do you keep motivation so high?’. But you don’t tire of winning. You just have to keep finding a different way to do it.
“It’s normal for us because our environment is set up that way. If you look at the trophies won between the top four clubs and you see that we’ve largely dominated – the pressure and expectation on us is far greater. That’s what comes with being champions, you have to expect that.
“I’m really process-driven. I keep thinking about how to keep organising the team in way that challenges, and gets results. I don’t get stuck in being too emotional.”
Twitter Due to your consent preferences, you’re not able to view this. Open Privacy Options
The low point of Chelsea’s season arrived very early on. The opening day in fact, after a shock defeat to newly-promoted Liverpool. Following that wake-up call they stayed undefeated until early March, losing in the Continental Cup final against Arsenal. The uptick, far from coincidental, was engineered by Hayes’ unrelenting will to succeed.
“Our job is to challenge for every honour every year, regardless, no matter what,” she said, as if vowing to the football gods. Certainly the passion and devotion to winning is as pronounced as ever.
Fighting for silverware is what Chelsea do best. More than expected, it’s demanded. Pragmatically, Hayes is quick to remind that “we’ve won nothing this year,” while safe in the knowledge that winner’s medals in two competitions remain within grasp.
Image: Chelsea are within striking distance of both Manchester clubs in race for WSL glory with a two-game advantage
Speaking about May’s FA Cup final showpiece against title rivals Manchester United, which will be played in front of a capacity Wembley Stadium crowd for the first time in its history, Hayes added: “I know I’ve demanded that of the FA over the last couple of years.
“Sometimes I think nobody believed that was achievable. I did. The way the game has gone, I’m delighted we can talk about it in terms of a sell-out.
“Our ambitions are to make the club proud. It’s been a challenging year for the club. We want to give the fans some happiness and some joy, whatever that looks like. That is our main priority and we’re absolutely committed to it.”
Historically, Chelsea’s presence has had teams running scared. Will they continue to rise above the parapet? Question their resolve if you dare.
Watch Chelsea vs Everton live on Sky Sports Football from 6.30pm on Sunday; kick-off 6.45pm
Win £250,000 with Super 6!
Another Saturday, another chance to win £250,000 with Super 6. Play for free, entries by 3pm.
Sourse: skysports.com
