‘We are in a strong position’ – Chelsea well-placed to progress says Hayes after victory in Turin | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says that this evening’s 2-1 victory over Juventus leaves her side in a strong position to progress to the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals.

The Blues recorded a hard-fought victory thanks to goals from Erin Cuthbert and Pernille Harder. The win sees The Blues move above Juventus into second place in their group and the South West Londoners now have the added bonus of back-to-back games against group minnows Servette FCCF, a side who have lost both of their group games so far, failing to score and conceding eight goals at the other end.

Speaking in the post-match press conference at the Juventus Stadium, Hayes said that her side now find themselves in a strong position in their group, particularly with that double header with Servette on the horizon.

“Absolutely, we are in a strong position with four points and that’s where you want to be,” Hayes said when commenting both on tonight’s result and the upcoming fixtures. “We know that for us, it is not about away goals any more, it is about getting points on the board.

“Our intentions and our objectives are clear and I think that we are one step closer to that.”

Scotland international Cuthbert broke the deadlock for Chelsea with a superb individual goal in the first half at a time when goalscoring opportunities seemed to be at a premium. Hayes offered praise to the forward whilst also highlighting the adaptability shown by her side in the second half.

She said “It was a difficult first half but Erin drove inside and kept going like we know she is capable of. She took her chance and at this level, you are not going to get many chances. It was one of our lowest xG’s for any game this season but for me, we still created enough situations to win the game. It was perfect timing, the same for the second goal.

“I think we really pushed in the second half. I think the final pass maybe let us down sometimes, we were in great situations and I don’t think that Ann (Berger) had too much to do. We had to make some tactical adjustments throughout the second half and I think that the team did really well to adapt to that.”

Chelsea now go into the international break before returning to action on Sunday 31 October when they travel to The Academy Stadium to take on Manchester City in the semi-finals of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup.