Emma Hayes says Chelsea Women must focus on ourselves ahead of our UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage clash with Real Madrid in the Spanish capital on Thursday evening.
The Blues travel to the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano with a 100 per cent record in European competition this season, winning all three matches while notching 11 goals and keeping three clean sheets to extend our lead at the top of Group A to five points.
We welcomed our Spanish opposition to Kingsmeadow a fortnight ago, where we secured a hard-fought 2-0 win on a chilly November night under the lights. Sophie Ingle and Erin Cuthbert were on target with quickfire second-half goals which saw us emerge victorious.
Victory in Madrid would see us take a giant leap towards confirming our qualification for the knockout phase of the competition, with two matches still to navigate after our encounter with Madrid on matchday four.
Hayes acknowledged Real Madrid’s strengths from a footballing perspective, and she believes they have plenty more to give in European competition and is looking forward to going up against them again on Thursday evening.
‘It was nice to play Madrid for the first time. I was really impressed with the technical ability of the team. They are a team that are growing into European competition and certainly will become a bigger player every year with the investment made in this club. We’re happy to have the opportunity to play at this wonderful football club.’
When asked further about the qualities Real Madrid possess, Hayes didn’t want to give too much away in terms of how we nullify them, instead choosing to emphasise the desire to bring all three points back to London.
‘Ultimately, we’re here to win. To talk about the threats of the opponent, give away our game plan which I don’t want to do. What I will say is that as a team, their patience in possession, the ability to threaten in the wide spaces is part of their strength.’
Possession and using the ball effectively will be key to our chances of success on Thursday night. Hayes said concentration must be on what we can do to stamp our authority on the game, taking confidence from previous results.
‘For us, we just need to focus on our experience and what we’ve done in the European competition. It’s a massive pitch out there and to get a result we have to keep the ball very well because they do. We absolutely have to tomorrow.’
There are two home games remaining before Christmas, including one at Stamford Bridge.