Chelsea fixture a great opportunity for Manchester City to bounce back says Blakstad | OneFootball

Manchester City forward Julie Blakstad says that Sunday’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea at The Academy Stadium provides the team with a great opportunity to bounce back to winning ways.

The Cityzens exited this season’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 extra-time defeat to Aston Villa last weekend. Gareth Taylor’s side must now win the Barclays Women’s Super League title or they will end the campaign trophyless.

When speaking exclusively to FAWSL Full-Time ahead of this weekend’s fixture against Chelsea, Manchester City forward Blakstad said that the game presents the team with a great opportunity to get back on track.

“The girls are disappointed,” Blakstad said. “It was tough for us, Aston Villa have given us a good fight in all of the games this year.

“We really want to bounce back and this is a great opportunity for us to show that we can come back against Chelsea. We still have the league title to fight for and for the girls, it gives us even more spirit to keep on fighting. We want to go and get those three points at the weekend.”

Chelsea currently lead the Barclays Women’s Super League table. Emma Hayes’ side have a two-point advantage over Manchester City while they also hold a game-in-hand. Blakstad agreed that this weekend’s game is massive for the club.

She said “Yes, of course. Obviously, it is an important game because Chelsea are ahead of us, so it’s important for us to take points from it and I think everyone knows that, but it is still just a game and you can only play for three points.

“We want to take points from every game, so it is important to focus on what we can do and try to play our game the best way that we can. Hopefully, that will be enough for the three points.”

Blakstad has been handed just two starts in the Barclays Women’s Super League this season along with a handful of substitute appearances. When selected, she has never let the team down and provides a different option on the left side of the Manchester City attack. Reflecting on her season so far, Blakstad said that she does want more minutes but just being at Manchester City is a real honour.

“I haven’t been playing as much as I had been hoping for,” Blakstad said. “I have had some minutes but I am still pushing hard to get more minutes in my legs and hopefully, contribute more. Every player wants to play as much as possible but there are only 11 players who can be out there at the same time. Having the opportunity to play at such a great club, it is something that you want every day.”

Manchester City’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea kicks-off at 12.40pm on Sunday afternoon. The game is now a complete sell-out.