‘We’re frustrated’ – Chelsea boss Hayes reacts to BK Häcken stalemate | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said that her side were frustrated following the goalless draw with BK Häcken at Stamford Bridge last night.

The Blues played host to the Swedish side on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage. Despite Chelsea dominating the match, it ended with neither side being able to break the deadlock. The result denied Chelsea the opportunity to claim top spot in Group D, The Blues remain in second place with five points.

When speaking in the post-match press conference, manager Hayes expressed her frustration at her side’s performance.

“We had 70 percent of the ball and in the first half, 22 touches in the opponents’ box,” Hayes said. “We had 30 shots on goal, 30 shots with 3.0 expected goals, the technical execution from us tonight was really poor as a team. You can’t talk tactics when you can get in through different phases quite easily but first half, I thought exactly that, we either made the right pass but it was the wrong execution or we’d build-up to the centre forward and we wouldn’t hold it up very well.

“It was technical for me, the second half even more so. When you’re playing against a block, you can’t just play into the block like we did. I think we’re a bit frustrated and I think quite rightly because for the amount of ball we had, for the amount of final third entries we had, there wasn’t enough quality from the team as a whole.”

Chelsea created opportunities to pull themselves ahead in the game’s opening stages but the side lacked conviction in their attacking endeavours. Hayes highlighted what she believed her Blues lacked at The Bridge last night.

She said “I thought we started the game really brightly but we get the first press right and then Sam [Kerr] gets in the right position and squares it instead of going in the box and finishing. For me, whether it’s decision-making, execution in the final third, that’s what I think we lacked the most tonight.”

Despite Chelsea’s disappointment in not being able to claim the three points, Hayes remained positive in her side’s ability to bounce back.

“I thought we lacked a little bit of calm and composure,” she said. “The longer the game went on, I could see the frustration amongst the players. It’s a point and we still have to go to Gothenburg. I think when you have moments that are a bit tricky in a season, you can’t go through an entire year completely perfect. We’ve scored multiple goals up until the last two games and I think when you have these moments, then you get to see the character of your players come through that.

“I think when we get to the training pitch on Saturday….I could tell from the energy in the way the team started today that they want to do the right things but for whatever reason, the players who are very good football players, some of them struggled to do the basic things tonight.”

Chelsea’s next fixture in the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage sees them head to Gothenburg to face BK Häcken in the reverse fixture on 20 December 2023.