MY ACCOUNT
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes was disappointed with her side’s “unacceptable start” against Everton despite eventually running out 7-0 winners at Kingsmeadow.
The Blues’ heavy victory kept up the pressure on Manchester United in the Women’s Super League title race following the Red Devils’ 3-0 win over Tottenham.
It closed the gap to just four points at the summit, with the West Londoners playing two games fewer than their WSL rivals.
But despite Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr, Sophie Ingle, Jessie Fleming, Erin Cuthbert goals and a Pernille Harder brace securing a dominant victory, Hayes insisted the champions must start better.
The 46-year-old said: “I was disappointed with us in the first 20 minutes of the game.
“We didn’t execute the game plan defensively. That’s something for me to address tomorrow with the team because for two games running we have started slowly. That’s not acceptable.
“If you’re playing a top team, you can’t afford to go one and two down in a game.
“The team know that and it’s something we will improve.
“That being said, we were ruthless. It was a 2.08 expected goals game yet we’ve scored seven goals. There have been many games where we’ve had higher xG, more clear-cut chances and been less efficient.
“We scored four from five in the first half and for that reason we came in at half-time in a comfortable place. Second half, the players enjoyed themselves.”
Chelsea face relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday before going up against United in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
United remain focused
Marc Skinner insists United will maintain their focus in the title race after their comfortable win over Spurs.
Goals from Leah Galton, Alessia Russo and Nikita Parris at Leigh Sports Village earned a fifth-straight league victory for the Red Devils and kept them in contention for their first ever WSL title.
While champions Chelsea still hold the advantage in the run-in, Skinner insists he is only worrying about ensuring his side keep on winning.
He told the BBC: “The reality is we have to win our games. So we play Manchester City after Chelsea and we’ve got to win that game. We know what we’ve got to do. I’m pretty relaxed about it.
“I’m going to go home after this and, until we play Manchester City, I don’t need to look at [the title race].
“We’ll stay focused on us and I won’t let anything deviate from that.”
City’s hopes dashed
Manchester City’s title hopes are all but over after falling to a shock 2-1 defeat at Liverpool.
Missy Bo Kearns struck the winner at Prenton Park early in the second half after Lauren Hemp’s header had cancelled out Natasha Dowie’s opener for the mid-table Reds.
The crushing defeat leaves City six points adrift of United and with a far inferior goal difference to their rivals ahead of their final two games.
Women’s Super League Matchday 20 results
Arsenal 1-0 Leicester
Manchester United 3-0 Tottenham
Liverpool 2-1 Manchester City
Reading 0-5 Aston Villa
Brighton 1-0 West Ham
Chelsea 7-0 Everton
