Sonia Bompastor says her Chelsea players were clinical and displayed great resilience to win a game of 'fine margins' against Manchester City and seal a place in a second consecutive Women's League Cup final.
The Chelsea boss earmarked tonight’s last-four clash, in addition to our Women's Super League fixtures against Arsenal and City, as crucial games in our season.
And with one win now in the bag, which has given us the chance to retain the League Cup against Manchester United in March, the Blues' head coach explained why tonight’s victory is a significant boost ahead of what's to come.
‘We’ve reached the League Cup final and it's the first trophy we can grab in our season, ‘ Bompastor said. ‘But now we need to put that to the side and focus on the final later.
‘Winning never gets old, and for a club like Chelsea, it's really important. We go into every game to compete and to win. We stated our ambitions from the beginning of the season, but proving it on the pitch is even more crucial.
‘Now we have to focus on our recovery because we are playing in a few hours against Arsenal, another really big game. We knew coming into these three games – the one tonight and the next two – they would define our season. Starting with a victory away from home is really good for our confidence.’
After taking the lead last in the first half via a Wieke Kaptein header, the Blues had to dig in and defend several chances from the home side in the second 45 minutes.
The statistics highlight Manchester City had five big chances, but a determined performance from Bompastor’s side meant we sealed victory.
‘I’mreally pleased because it was tough,’ Bompastor said. ‘We were able to win here at this ground, playing Man City, who have been in really good form and scoring many goals. Of course, in some moments of the game, we were a little bit lucky – they hit the post twice – but it was a great result and a great performance from my players.
‘These games are defined by fine margins. We were clinical in the moment, and that's what brought us to the final. Both teams were really close to each other.’
City were largely left frustrated by the performance of Hannah Hampton; the Chelsea stopper made five important saves to keep them at bay.
Bompastor was delighted with her goalkeeper’s performance on the night, but also highlighted how every member of her side contributed to the victory.
‘It's really important to have world-class players in your team when you want to have success and win games,’ she concluded. ‘I have already said that Hannah is the best goalkeeper in the world. Again tonight, she made some big saves and helped the team get a clean sheet.
‘I also want to mention the whole team because the resilience we showed was great, and everyone put a lot of effort into keeping the clean sheet.’