Emma Hayes: “Ability to always stay focused” the reason for Chelsea’s late draw against Arsenal
With no winner in the Women’s Super League match between Arsenal and Chelsea on Sunday, the race for the title becomes even more exciting. Chelsea Head Coach Emma Hayes labelled the situation a “win-win” for everyone. “Winning the title can go to the last day, like it always does. I thought my team showed tremendous character,” she said.
Hayes emphasises that it was her team’s ability to keep their focus up that led to the draw, Sam Kerr being the prime example following her late goal.
“The standout attribute for me is exactly that, she [Kerr] doesn’t lose focus, not at any point. She stays confident in the game, she knows that it will only take her one chance and she stays switched on,” the Chelsea manager said.
Even though the Blue were not at their dominant best at the Emirates Stadium, Hayes concentrated on the positives after the matchup: “I think coming here today, I knew that Arsenal would have their strongest team and I knew with 45,000 people this is their best opportunity at this moment in time. For that reason, I think it’s a great point for us.”
Arsenal coach Jonas Eidevall also thought the crowd as the factor contributing most to his team’s strong performance. “It’s impressive that it’s the third consecutive WSL game that has drawn this big an attendance,” he said. “The more we experience it, the more we keep coming here, the more we can turn this into our fortress and to create this great Arsenal atmosphere around it.”
One of the key moments in the game was the penalty decision for Arsenal midway through the second half after Chelsea’s Niamh Charles brought down Caitlin Foord with a tackle that began outside of the box.
“The referee gave the decision for tangling of the legs in the box, but I think that’s impossible to avoid when a player is already going down,” Hayes argued.
Eidevall on the other side, happy with the outcome for his team, said: “The referee was in an excellent position. You have to trust her in that decision.”
Arsenal played a stronger first half with a good tactical approach. “We executed the game plan very well today both the build-up and in the way that we press,” said Eidevall, showing his satisfaction.
“Long-term it’s more important to get the performance part right because this is what is driving the results. We are disappointed today but going forward we need to draw strengths from the performance.”
In the end, it felt more like two points lost than a point gained for the Gunners. “We are obviously disappointed with the result. It’s one of those game, when you look at it in retrospect, that we could have been more active in the last fifteen minutes”, Eidevall thinks.
A little odd was the fact that the Arsenal coach only used one out of four possible substitutions. Even though there were new and fresh faces on the bench, Eidevall chose not to bring them on.
“You have to look at it very realistically. These players have not had a lot of training sessions with us. These players were only able to be registered,” he argued.
What turned the game around for the Blues was their coach’s choice of substitutions. Hayes brought on Fran Kirby, Eve Perisset, Johanna Kaneryd, and Jelena Čanković in the second half as Chelsea searched for an equaliser.
It was the latter who initiated the 1-1 with her pinpoint cross on to the head of Sam Kerr as she scored in the 89th minute.
“The ball from Jelena was absolutely world-class but so was the header,” Hayes commented. “I can’t find a proverbial word that doesn’t involve swearing but she’s got that thing, she can come in and deliver, same as Eve Perisset.”
Another standout player for the away side was goalkeeper Zećira Mušović, who started instead of Ann-Katrin Berger. The Chelsea coach justified the decision by pointing to the depth in her squad, and named game build-up especially as one of Mušović’s strongest assets.
She further praised the goalkeeper’s work ethic: “The work she’s doing in the background, on the training pitch, her diligence, her attention to detail, her replication has been absolutely brilliant. I expect that she will come in tomorrow and ask what the next level will be because she’s a product of hard work in training and beyond.”
The only thing Hayes was disappointed with after the game was herself: “I changed shape to a 3-5-2, I’m disappointed with myself I didn’t do it sooner. The game changed the minute we changed shape.”
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Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea: Blues shock Gunners with late Kerr goal
