Chelsea boss Emma Hayes believes her aspect have merely lived as much as expectations by securing passage to the Champions League semi-finals after a 1-1 draw with Ajax at Stamford Bridge.
Mayra Ramirez opened the scoring 33 minutes into within the first half of her Champions League debut for Chelsea and, whereas Chasity Grant netted a second-half comfort for the guests, the Blues in the end booked their place within the ultimate 4 with a snug 4-1 mixture victory.
The Blues, who progressed to the semi-finals for the fifth time in seven seasons, will face the winners of the last-eight conflict between holders Barcelona and Norwegian aspect Brann, who play their second leg on Thursday.
Hayes mentioned: “For those who have a look at our report within the Champions League, even within the final 5 years, it was solely as soon as we didn’t qualify from the group. We’ve made the latter phases yearly.
A primary Champions League objective in Chelsea colors for Mayra! #UWCL pic.twitter.com/jY5KEurC4H
— Chelsea FC Ladies (@ChelseaFCW) March 27, 2024
“We anticipate to be right here, I ought to say that. I don’t make any excuses. We ought to be at this stage, and we ought to be on the semi-finals. In fact we have now somewhat bit extra depth to have the ability to do issues like make six adjustments tonight than we’ve ever had.
“However we haven’t gained something. We’re within the place we wish to be. I don’t know who the opponent can be, however we’re prepared.”
The Champions League trophy is the one that also eludes Hayes, who has secured 13 main titles in her 12-year run on the Blues’ helm that may conclude when she departs on the finish of this season to take over the US ladies’s nationwide crew forward of this summer time’s Olympics.
The now five-time semi-finalists got here closest once they reached a maiden ultimate in 2021, in the end ending runners-up in a 4-0 loss to Barcelona, the identical aspect who knocked them out with a 2-1 victory on mixture in final season’s semi-finals.
This time round Hayes feels Chelsea have “extra attacking choices, extra selection, somewhat extra expertise”.
“We’ve been within the latter phases so many instances, we all know the place we have now to be to play in these kinds of video games,” Hayes added.
Ajax captain Sherida Spitse, whose aspect have been simply the second Dutch membership to achieve the final eight in Ladies’s Champions League historical past, insisted she and her team-mates will stroll away from the competitors with their heads held excessive.
She mentioned: “I feel we might be actually happy with one another. In fact you all the time wish to win, you all the time wish to undergo, however ultimately we have now proven who Ajax are and that we have now developed in a great way, particularly within the video games within the Champions League.
“We’ve got to be right here yearly as a result of I feel that’s the finest place to be.”
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