16 November 2020

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes ‘super proud’ of dramatic draw against Arsenal despite ‘average performance’

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes has said she is ‘super proud’ of her side’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday despite describing their performance as ‘average’.

Pernille Harder’s 90th minute equaliser salvaged a point for the defending Women’s Super League champions and preserved their unbeaten run in the league, which stretches back to January 2019.

Chelsea remain one of the favourites for the title this season

(Twitter: @ChelseaFCW)

And while it may not have been the most scintillating display from her team, Hayes also recognises they were up against a very impressive Arsenal side.

"Well the game played out how I thought it would," she told the club website. "I’ve been around the block long enough to say when you play a team that are defeated against Man United and have lost six out of the six times against us then at some point their manager was going to get the response he was looking for.

"They played exactly how I thought they would play and we prepared for it but as we know you can do all the studying in the world but when it comes to exam day it doesn’t mean you’re going to produce your top performance.

"For us we didn’t execute what we set out to do and credit the opponent for that, Arsenal played as well as I’ve seen them play against us in recent years.

"I thought Arsenal dominated the second ball, I thought they played their game plan better than we played ours.

"Knowing all of those factors that I’ve already described, plus it being a derby game, I think it was an average performance but an unbelievable point for us – I’m pleased because these are the games I fear.

"Full credit to Joe Montemurro's team, they did really well and although we weren’t at our best, we didn’t lose the game. And I’m super proud of that because I know it never goes according to plan. I’m happy to pick the point up in the end."

After their point at Meadow Park, Chelsea now sit third in the WSL table, three points behind leaders Manchester United with a game in hand.

Hayes’ team face London City in the League Cup on Wednesday but then have a two week break before they host West Ham in the WSL on December 6.

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