Trophyless Emma Hayes bizarrely concedes WSL title early
Chelsea women’s team head coach Emma Hayes is already throwing in the towel during the Women’s Super League title race. The Blues currently find themselves six points behind league leaders Manchester City. Hayes and her squad had the opportunity to close the gap to three points on Wednesday against Liverpool. The Reds, however, grabbed the victory on the night in dramatic fashion. With the game level at 3-3, Gemma Bonner netted the winner late in added time.
While Chelsea are six points back, they do have an extra game in hand compared to City. Assuming the Blues beat Bristol City, a team set to be relegated from the top flight, they would still have two matches remaining to make up the three points. Despite the Liverpool loss, the reigning Women’s Super League champions are still alive in their quest to collect a fifth consecutive title.
English pundits left stunned as Emma Hayes concedes Super League title race
After the aforementioned disappointing defeat, Hayes was interviewed by Sky Sports. The coach, who is departing the club to join the United States women’s national team, essentially conceded the title race to City.
“I have amazing memories of this football club and we won a lot of things and I’d love to bring titles again to Chelsea,” stated Hayes. “But that’s not going to be this year I’m afraid. My job now is to prepare the team for the last few games to continue to compete and enjoy.”
The reporter, seemingly thrown back a bit, then questioned the comments to give up on the title race. “We will never give up, but the title is far from us,” responded Hayes. “It’s not in our hands. City deserve it, their consistency has put them in that position. We will go to the end, but I don’t think the title will be heading to us this year.”
Sky Sports pundits Karen Carney and Courtney Sweetman-Kirk both agreed that the remarks by Hayes were a bit odd. “It just felt weird,” stated Carney. “You’ve got games left. [Third-placed] Arsenal still play City, but you’ve told the whole world that it’s over, which is not like her.”
Sweetman-Kirk agreed with her colleague by saying that the comments were unusual for the Chelsea coach. “I think we are normally used to seeing Emma so defiant,” continued Sweetman-Kirk. “It’s definitely a peculiar one. We’ve talked about the psychology of it all [Hayes departing the club] and how it must be affecting them.”
Hayes has endured odd final season at Chelsea
The 2023/24 campaign at Chelsea has undoubtedly been a strange one for Hayes. While the Blues have typically been dominant in recent years, the club could potentially go trophyless this season. Chelsea was recently dropped out of the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Barcelona, despite holding an advantage in the tie. Before that, Hayes suffered defeat in both the League Cup and FA Cup competitions.
Besides results on the pitch, Hayes has also received heat for multiple off-field decisions this season. The Chelsea boss recently shoved Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall immediately after a loss to the Gunners. Following the event, Hayes recited poetry in a bizarre press conference during a response to the previous incident.
Once the current campaign is completed, Hayes is set to join the USWNT. The Blues finish out their season with an away match against Manchester United on May 18th. The coach is then set to travel to the United States ahead of a friendly between the Stars and Stripes and South Korea on June 1.
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