Emma Hayes says that her Chelsea Women side need to improve on their performance, despite hitting six away at Birmingham in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
The Blues netted six goals without reply in Birmingham, just days after a 5-1 Continental Tyres Cup win against Tottenham Hotspur at Kingsmeadow which confirmed our place in the quarter-finals.Ji So-Yun opened the scoring with a sensational free-kick inside two minutes, Millie Bright scored the second with a well-timed run and finish, and top goalscorer Bethany England struck clinically on the stroke of half-time.The Blues started the second half in the same way we finished the first and two goals came in the space of six minutes, both from Drew Spence. England netted the team's sixth and her ninth of the season with half-an-hour left to play.Despite the ruthless nature of Sunday’s win, Hayes believes there is still plenty of room for improvement ahead of a trip to Everton on Sunday.
‘I wasn’t happy with the performance,’ she said. ‘After the first goal I thought we were too passive, I thought we didn’t do enough offensively and it took us a while to get going.‘A great run from Millie [Bright] to get the second goal in the game, I thought we really needed it. Good goals in terms of the score but I think we need to improve on that performance if we are going to get anything next weekend.‘How do you make progress if you are permanently happy? You can’t progress, you can’t win championships by patting yourselves on the backs all the time,’ Hayes continued.
Vice-captain Bright was at the heart of the action at both ends. The 26-year-old was her usual dominate self at the back, but also got in on the act when she finished deservedly after her dogged run up the pitch. She then turned provider for our third with a spectacular long-range pass for England to fire home.The Chelsea boss lauded Bright’s impact and also commented on Hannah Blundell’s return to the squad after recovering from a thigh injury that dates back to our opening day of the season.
‘Millie is outstanding in general. I don’t know why she doesn’t play for England on a regular basis because for me she is a leader. She 100 per cent drives the team in performances.‘She needs to keep improving with the ball at her feet but I’d always want her in the team because of the standard she sets. That goal she scored is no surprise in our environment because she does that a lot in training.‘I’m happy for Hannah [Blundell], she’s been out a while and we missed her. I missed her presence, her personality and that little flighty flight that goes up and down the line – I’m super happy she’s back.’
The Blues are in action again on Sunday with a trip to Everton and then it’s back to Kingsmeadow for one of the biggest games of the season. We host Manchester City on Sunday 8 December.