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MANCHESTER, England : Chelsea coach Emma Hayes has always done things her own way, but not even she could have predicted how her side would come back in her final game in charge to snatch the Women’s Super League title that she had conceded two weeks ago.
After a glittering 12 years in charge, Hayes, who is leaving to take over the U.S. women’s national team, looked set to depart without winning a trophy in her final season before a remarkable turnaround brought her seventh WSL crown.
“I can’t say it’s my most enjoyable (title), but it’s definitely been the toughest without doubt, and for that reason probably the sweetest. I’m just so relieved it’s over,” Hayes told Sky Sports.
In a late slump, Chelsea lost the Continental Cup final to Arsenal before getting knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League at the semi-final stage, and after a 4-3 league defeat by Liverpool Hayes conceded the league to Manchester City.
City slipped lost 2-1 to Arsenal on May 5, however, to throw Chelsea a lifeline, and they needed no second invitation, demolishing Bristol City 8-0 hours later to wipe out Manchester City’s goal difference advantage and put the London team back in the driving seat.
Saturday’s clinical 6-0 demolition of Manchester United bore all the hallmarks of Hayes’s coaching as she sent out a fired-up team that knew exactly what was expected.
“What a wonderful performance from the team today. I picked a team of leaders from the beginning and I felt it was absolutely essential we had the emotional maturity and regulation for a stadium as fitting as this,” Hayes said.
The scenes at Old Trafford were a far cry from when Hayes took over Chelsea in 2012, when the women’s game was almost unrecognisable from where it is today.
“Everyone told us we couldn’t. Everyone said girls can’t play, nor can they fill stadiums, nor can they get paid, nor can they create history,” Hayes said.
“Not only are we not going away but we are going to fill them every week. Women’s football now is a serious business, and that for me is what it’s about.”
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