Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says Man City underestimated her team in FA Women’s Cup final win | football news

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says Man City “underestimated” her team during the FA Women’s Cup final, and the current side “will go down in history” after collecting another trophy.

Chelsea took the lead twice during the main event at Wembley, but Gareth Taylor’s side took them back late in each half.

But a Sam Kerr extra-time winner secured Chelsea’s second trophy in a week as they also clinched the Women’s Super League title last Sunday.

An ecstatic Hayes couldn’t hide her joy after the match, noting that the Women’s League Cup final in March, which City won 3-1, gave her team a little extra motivation this time.

“I’m so happy, I really am,” he said. “That was amazing for today’s women’s game. Two teams that respected each other going head to head.

“I loved the game plan, I thought it was really aggressive, but we had to push and work. We stopped Man City’s momentum in the way we pressed, but it meant we had to suffer and there were a lot of cramps and groin strains.” . .

“Digging it up doesn’t surprise me, I told them that in overtime. I knew which team was going to be the winning team.

“I think Man City is a great team, but they underestimated us today. Our team, after losing in the Continental Cup final, had a point to prove and I think we did very well with that.”

“Those women will go down in history. I’m going to look back 10 years from now and say ‘that group was huge, the best team I’ve ever coached’. I totally understand the need to talk about perfection in football, but having been on the winning side most of the time let me tell you its about human effort we have a group of people who dont like being on a losing team and they will find a way [to win].

“I’ve been involved in a lot of football games, nothing was as much fun as that today… I understand I’m a leader and I have an amazing coaching staff, but these players are extraordinary, they really are.”

Hayes dedicates victory to Granovskaia, Buck and players leaving

Hayes held her press conference with Ji So-Yun’s jersey on the table in front of her, as the long-time midfielder played her last game for the club on Sunday.

Drew Spence and Jonna Andersson will also leave Chelsea this summer, and Hayes dedicated the win to all three players.

She explained, “This also has to be about the three players leaving… It’s about Ji, Jonna and Drew. That’s why I bought Ji’s shirt here today, which she kindly gave me.”

“I can’t get her a statue, but I want her to know that I’m honoring her in the best possible way by putting her front and center. If I could put Drew and Joanna there, I would. Today is about these three human beings.

“I just found out today that they’re leaving. I’m so heartbroken to lose three brilliant people. I’ve coached Drew since she was 19 or 20, I’ve watched her grow up. I’m so proud of her. I said the same thing to all of them.” at the end of the game ‘this is your legacy'”.

When asked if he would frame Ji’s shirt, Hayes emphatically replied, “Ji is amazing, of course he will be framed at my house!”

During uncertain times for Chelsea as a club, with the completion of their sale yet to be confirmed, Hayes also credited current director of football Marina Granovskaia and chairman Bruce Buck for the win.

She added: “This is a huge win for Marina and Bruce. What they have done for this team over a period of time, they have epitomized everything that Chelsea stands for. Full time, when I got my badge, that was for those two people. in particular”.

Hayes: Losing feeds me.

There has often been speculation about Hayes’ future at Chelsea, which was once again a topic of discussion after Sunday’s win, as well as how he continues to improve a team already laden with trophies.

She said: “Everyone knows I have a contract at Chelsea, so what is the speculation about? Maybe there is a job that you guys tell me I’m going to look for that I don’t know about. But as for me regards.” I’m worried, I don’t have to kill any speculation. I’m under contract at Chelsea and there’s nothing to talk about.

“I can’t bear to lose, I can’t bear to think about it. I don’t want to think about it, losing feeds me. The minute I feel one of them coming, I just want to get better.”

“I don’t do well in comfort and I lead the team to live like that. Even today, I couldn’t have wished to be in a better game, even when they scored… They were two top teams and today was our day. Just like the Cup Continental could easily have turned in either direction.”

Taylor: We were the dominant team.

In a game of thin margins, City boss Gareth Taylor had little to be disappointed in except the end result. City were in control for much of the occasion at Wembley but failed to make his presence felt where it mattered most: the Chelsea box.

His overwhelming emotion was one of pride when asked about his assessment of City’s loss to Chelsea, and he praised the character of his team, having twice come from behind to momentarily threaten a comeback.

Ultimately, the day belonged to Londoners, but that didn’t stop Taylor from praising his team’s performance, summing up City’s future as “very bright”.

“Of course I’m going to be biased, but I felt like we were the dominant team in big periods of the game,” he reflected. “I think we started well, we had good chances.

“We had to show good character to bounce back after giving away a disappointing goal. We controlled a lot of the game and then the last 20 minutes, I think we were excellent.”

“We were the only team in extra time that felt like we were going to go ahead and do it. We make a little mistake, which ends up costing us. It’s tough then, because Chelsea can see the goal line.”

“Supremely proud of the team, it was unfortunate that we couldn’t put our noses forward when we got promoted.

“My feeling is not disappointment, of course we wanted to lift the trophy, but right now I just feel pride.

“The only area of ​​disappointment is that if you give Chelsea three goals, you will have to do a lot to win the game. But outside of three goals, I never felt like they had chances. I felt like we nullified their threat well, and created our own chances. , but we just needed to be a bit more tidy in the final part.

“This is football. It can happen. You can dominate for long periods and be left with nothing. You have to take your hat off to Chelsea, what they do, they do very well.”

“Outside of us, no other team has won a trophy. We’re proud of that. We know we’re there, we know we can do it. The future is very bright.”