After Barcelona struck a humiliating blow to their confidence in the UWCL final, Chelsea must show their mettle and regroup for the FA Cup final – and start preparing for European finals to come, writes Jessy Parker Humphreys.
What happens when the moment you have spent close to a decade working towards is snatched away? And not just taken from under your nose, but publicly and embarrassingly shown to be beyond your reach?
It is the question Emma Hayes will have had to face up to this week as she assesses the fallout from Chelsea’s Champions League final loss to Barcelona.
As Barcelona and Chelsea gear up for a historic Champions League Final on Sunday, Jessy Parker Humphreys explores who could have the edge, with help from England and Chelsea legend Eni Aluko. On Sunday night, Chelsea will walk out for the biggest game in the club’s history. Emma Hayes has made no secret of her…
Jessy Parker Humphreys wraps up the big talking points from this season’s final WSL gameweek..
Chelsea calmly march to a second consecutive WSL trophy
Winning when you are playing well is one thing, but winning when you are playing badly is the mark of a side at the very top of their game. Chelsea never looked uncomfortable in their must-win game against Reading – predominantly thanks to a strike in the opening minute from Melanie Leupolz – but there were large portions of this game where they looked below their best, perhaps tired out from a busy week.
Regardless, this game may as well have been Chelsea’s ‘Greatest Hits’ album. Sam Kerr and Fran Kirby combined for three goals, with the third being particularly special as Kirby scooped a cross over the Reading defence for Kerr to tap in. The introduction of Guro Reiten and Erin Cuthbert, two players aware this was their last opportunity to make an impression on their manager ahead of the Champions League final, saw the
WSL: Five Things we learned this weekend offsiderulepodcast.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from offsiderulepodcast.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Karen Carney tells Jessy Parker Humphreys how the Blues can beat Bayern ahead of the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
“How do you stop this Chelsea side?”
That is what Bayern Munich will be asking themselves on Sunday, as they face Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. It is also what Champions League winner and ex-Chelsea player Karen Carney is asking as she analyses Chelsea’s chances of reaching their first ever Champions League final.
“Chelsea have every element with those three,” Carney continues, referring to Sam Kerr, Fran Kirby, and Pernille Harder.
“Sam [Kerr] constantly puts pressure on the backline, so they’re nervous, so they drop. The two Bayern girls won’t want to get beat, so if they drop, well – good luck with that. Because then you’ve got Fran Kirby or Pernille Harder in those pocket spaces. If you get tight to them, then you’ve got to worry about Sam Kerr beating you for pace which you don’t want.