Chelsea manager Emma Hayes may have just become the first manager in five years to guide a team to victory at Barcelona, but you wouldn’t have known it from her press conference in post-match.
There was no sense of celebration. No poems. No point in thinking about the records his team had just broken. No time to relax. Her thoughts immediately turned to April 27, when Chelsea host Barcelona for the second leg at Stamford Bridge with a chance of earning a place in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final.
She had no interest in talking about what that 1-0 victory meant. Instead, she said it was “essential” that they stage a full house at Stamford Bridge.
“I think it’s key: we’ve seen a lot of clubs sell out stadiums during the biggest games,” Hayes said. “I think it’s crucial…I think our girls deserve it. They deserve to play in front of a full house to give themselves the best possible chance because we are going to need them. Barcelona will throw absolutely everything at us. To progress, we need absolutely everything. »
As of Saturday evening, 24,000 tickets had been sold for the match, less than Stamford Bridge’s 40,000 capacity. Heading into their biggest game of this season, the club should grab this golden opportunity with both hands.
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