Chelsea Women boss Emma Hayes expecting three-way WSL title race to 'go to the wire'
Chelsea Women boss Emma Hayes says the WSL title race will "go to the wire" after Sunday's dramatic 3-3 draw against Manchester City.
The result leaves the unbeaten Blues one point behind league leaders City but with a game in hand, while champions Arsenal, who have also played a game less than City, are three points behind Chelsea.
The London rivals meet in Saturday's Continental Cup Final for the chance to claim the first domestic trophy of the season and, with six league matches to play, Hayes expects the title race to go the distance.
"I thought it was a great advert for the game – at least everybody told me that," Hayes said of the draw at City.
"I think it is a point gained in the grand scheme of things because it will go to the wire for the title race and I’d rather be in that position than the one that doesn’t have that control.
"You don’t usually see [that kind of game] between City and Chelsea, but then I reflected on past games when we’ve gone up there and they’re massive score draws a lot of the time, so credit to both teams, they really wanted it."
Chelsea are aiming to win the Continental Cup for the first time, while Arsenal have triumphed in the competition in five out of eight years since its inception, losing two of the three other finals to City.
Hayes' side thrashed the Gunners 4-1 in the league last month but the Blues boss expects a far tougher examination at the City Ground in Nottingham this weekend.
"This is Arsenal’s trophy," said Hayes. "This is the one they’ve won the most in recent years. This is the one they’ve dominated and won’t let go of easily, so I expect a fight. I expect an aggressive Arsenal performance.
"I expect them to go around us, on the outside of the pitch, unlike the last game.
"I think they will defend their title with all their might. They’ve got quality even with injuries and I think this will be a much, much tougher game than the league game we played at Boreham Wood.
"Getting to this final has been our challenge," she added. "You can’t win something you’re not in. We haven’t been able to make that, so that jump at Man United was so important psychologically as a team, to get to a point where you compete for a trophy.
"It’s the first one of the campaign, so of course it matters. Does it influence things either side of that? I don’t think so.
"Do I think it would be nice to go in to the international break with our first title? Our first trophy of the season…. I know for this environment this is one we really, really want to win."
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