Boss Emma Hayes likens Chelsea’s performances to stage shows

Emma Hayes likened her Chelsea team’s preparations to that of a stage performer ahead of their 12th meeting in three years with Arsenal in the League Cup final on Sunday.

Hayes’ side have knocked the Gunners out of at least one of the major cup competitions in each of the past five seasons, most recently with a 2-0 win in the FA Cup fifth round at Kingsmeadow in February.

They also beat them to the Women’s Super League title by a single point on a dramatic final day last season, and will be looking to get the better of Jonas Eidevall’s team again and take back the League Cup they last won in 2021 at a sold-out Selhurst Park on Sunday.

Hayes has a full squad to pick from, with the exception of Katerina Svitkova who underwent surgery on a knee injury two weeks ago and is expected to be out for “a significant period.”

The manager is looking to add to the 13 major honours she has won since taking over in 2012, but insisted the acquisition of silverware does not occupy her thoughts as she prepares to face a familiar rival.

“I don’t talk about (trophies),” said Hayes. “You (the media) do, you talk about it, which is fair enough. I just think about getting through the training week and preparing players as best as possible.

“It’s felt a lot easier this week to do that because we’ve had everybody there, so we can get everybody fresh and recovered. We’ve trained smart today. Players have taken on tactical detail without disrupting too much of the flow. I thought it was a solid session today.

“If you ask someone who’s going on stage and they’re having to produce the same performance every night, of course the script looks the same. The reality is that that person will notice some differences in their performances or make some changes and adaptations.

“It’s the same for us. Yes we know the opponent, but football is fluid in the sense that both teams are always making little adjustments here and there, and you have to keep adapting to that.

“I know from our perspective we’ve had a long time to work on ourselves. We just have to make tweaks when the game starts and adapt.”

Hayes said she expects intensity from her players in their last session before Sunday’s final as competition for places in the south London showpiece becomes fierce.

“They are the worst training sessions (before a final) because it’s hack central,” she added. “The officiating is horrific.  We’ll have a lot of fun at training tomorrow, I’m certain of that.

“We feel pride all of the time representing the badge, that is regardless of anything else. When we put the shirt on, we know we’re representing an entire community. We pride ourselves on the highest standards, no matter the game. That’ll be no different this week.”

The Football Association has confirmed the match is a sell-out for the first time in the competition’s history.