WSL: Chelsea clash with Man City could be key for Hayes’ Champions League dream

Chelsea Women host second-placed Manchester City in the WSL on Friday night in a game which could blow the title race and Emma Hayes’ final season wide open. 

With Chelsea three points clear of City after 13 games, this match is crucial for both sides but even more so for the hosts. 

Win and the Blues would move six points clear of their nearest challengers, lose and City would go level on points with them. 

Hayes’ side have not lost since 10 December, when they were soundly beaten 4-1 by Arsenal, who sit three points behind City. 

It is less a question of the title race and more a question of what Hayes can accomplish in her final season with the club. 

The importance of winning this game is amplified by this being her final season with Chelsea before she takes the US Women’s National Team job and despite her domestic success, the legendary coach has never won the Uefa Women’s Champions League. 

Should her side beat City, they would be able to turn their focus slightly to the elusive Champions League. 

A six point difference with eight games remaining would far from guarantee the WSL title, but it would take some of the pressure off and allow Hayes to keep some of her star players fit.

Hayes’ fairytale

Being able to manage her players in the run up to such a fixture would be crucial for Hayes, but she will have to find the right balance of giving them game time without tiring them out. 

In the Champions League quarter-finals next month, they face Ajax over two legs in a tie they are expected to win. 

However, they would likely then face the formidable prospect of last season’s champions Barcelona, who beat them in the semi-finals in 2023. 

Barcelona are currently top of the Spanish Liga F having won 16 from 17, scoring 73 goals and conceding just 4. If Chelsea are to have a chance of beating the Catalan side, they must surpass their best performances this season.  

Over her 12 years at the club, Hayes’ team has lost in the final to Barcelona in 2021 and reached the semi-finals three more times, but the trophy itself still eludes her. 

She has openly said it would be a “fairytale” to win the Champions League, but is well aware of just how difficult that will be. 

Blues in the hunt

Chelsea also remain in the hunt for the quadruple and face City in the League Cup semi-finals on 6 March. 

If they lose against City on Friday, the stakes in the League Cup will increase beyond the usual pressures of a semi-final as they so often do when two teams are battling it out on multiple fronts. 

Both sides are also still competing for the FA Cup too, with the quarter-finals taking place on 16 March as City face Tottenham and Chelsea travel to Everton. 

Should they both win those fixtures, they could well face each other again in the semi-finals or final. 

Evidently, Hayes will want to win every trophy she can, such is her competitive instinct, but the Champions League would definitely take pride of place if her side were able to deliver it to West London. 

The stage is certainly set for one hell of a competition tonight and should City and Chelsea play their part, they could set up one hell of a season finale.