Having qualified for her fifth Champions League semi-final with Chelsea, Emma Hayes was pleased to have negotiated the second leg against Ajax while using the depth in her squad, and she admitted the goalscorer against the Dutch side is causing her conundrums for Sunday’s League Cup final.
The Blues drew 1-1 in Wednesday night’s game at Stamford Bridge, sufficient to progress after a 3-0 away leg victory, and it was Mayra Ramirez who was on target for Chelsea in front of the home fans.
‘It was her [Champions League] debut and she was really excited about tonight,’ Hayes pointed out as she began her assessment of the second leg.
‘I’m happy for the goal and it gives me selection problems for the weekend.
‘When we got the goal, Ajax could have scored and we could have scored more in the first half, but when you make so many changes you have to expect there's a disruption and I felt that was probably the case throughout the game.
‘At 4-0 down, in the second half for sure Ajax had to go for it. We relaxed a little, it became too transitional but we're through and I'll focus on that.
‘We love winning,’ Hayes added as she moved on to discuss the seven changes she made to the starting line-up. ‘No one cares who scores, everybody has a role to play and some will play more than others.
‘We have to count on everyone almost throughout the season and I trust the squad. We're in the place we want to be and some players we absolutely needed to recover this evening, so we're happy with that.’
One of those who did come into the side was goalkeeper Zecira Musovic who after a couple of kicking errors in the first half and then conceding Ajax’s equaliser, acquitted herself very well to prevent further goals from going in.
Hayes pointed out it is understandable if those not playing regularly need time to rediscover their true touch.
‘You gain confidence when you are playing and Zecira hasn't been, so fair play to her for the saves she made in the second half. She knows that the errors were there in the first half but she is an incredible character, someone who cannot only be very self-reflective about her moments but will also want to keep working on them.
‘I want to focus on the good things she did preventing Ajax scoring because I don't think it's easy. The goalkeeper who has been playing [Hannah Hampton] is impeccable with her feet and so that becomes the example that everybody looks for.
‘I wanted Zecira to be the best version of herself and for those two saves she certainly demonstrated that.
‘We should be at this level, we should be in the semi-finals,’ Hayes summed up.
‘We have a little bit more depth to be able to do things like make those changes tonight. We haven’t won anything but we are in the place where we want to be. I don't know who the opponent will be but we are ready.’