Emma Hayes warns Chelsea players against complacency after big Women's Champions League win over Ajax

Chelsea are eyeing a first European title in Hayes’ final season in charge
Emma Hayes’ side took a big step towards the semi-finals
AP
Matt Verri20 March 2024

Emma Hayes reminded her Chelsea players it is “only half-time” in their Women’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Ajax, despite a resounding 3-0 first-leg win in Amsterdam last night.

One goal from Lionesses star Lauren James and a double from summer signing Sjoeke Nusken mean the last English team left in Europe have one foot in the semi-finals.

If they reach the last-four in next Wednesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge, they would face either Norwegian side Brann or holders Barcelona, who play each other tonight.

. “This game is only at half-time,” Hayes warned.

“Often when you go away and you win games like this, the brain gets a little bit relaxed, you go home, and you see an opposite performance.

“I think we need to heed the warning and share that experience with the players ahead of next week.”

Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Germany midfielder Nusken has ten goals in 27 appearances since joining Chelsea, and Hayes has been pleased with how she has adapted to the striker role.

Hayes, 47, said: “You see she not only belongs on the big stage but she’s someone, no matter where she plays, who’s going to be equally good.

“She’s a box player, no question. She wants to be there and the third goal epitomised her desire, her positioning and quality.

“She plays as a No8, she’s equally good. She plays as centre-half, she’s just as good. In fact, I might give her a game in goal next week just to test it out.”

Chelsea are hunting a quadruple in their final season before Hayes departs for the USA. They lead the WSL table by goal difference over Manchester City, and visit the league’s second-bottom side West Ham on Sunday.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in