We’re 3-1 up on aggregate but Renée Slegers and her team are under no illusions about the difficulty of the task we face this week.
The UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final second leg takes place at 8pm at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday as we look to progress to the semis for the second season in a row.
Of course, we can take from confidence from our two recent wins against the Blues, as we look to beat them three times in a row for the first time since 2013.
In her pre-match press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday, our head coach was asked what it’s like to be going into the second leg with a two-goal lead.
“It was a very tight game against Chelsea in the first leg, and we know it’s going to be a battle tomorrow as well so we have to be on it,” she said. “It’s only half-time, so there’s a lot of work still to do for us, and that’s how we’re going to approach the game.
“Of course, we have a lot of experience in the group as players, as staff as well, how to manage different moments, and that’s what we definitely want to bring to the game tomorrow.”
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Every word of Renée’s pre-Chelsea press conference
Asked how we can avoid getting sucked into Chelsea’s game plan, and how aware we are that a two-goal lead can change quickly due to our own comebacks and turnarounds in the competition last season, Renée continued: “I think there are always battles between us and Chelsea. If you see the games we’ve played so far against each other this season, it’s always been a very tight game – and we know that will be the case tomorrow as well.
“It’s two very good teams going against each other, and we don’t think too much about the scoreline – we just want to go and play our game, and do what we’re good at. We have a game-plan in place and we want to execute that with full belief in the players, where they’re at, and the strength we have in the squad from start to finish. It’s going to be a tight game and we have a way that we want to approach it.
“We know what it feels like as a team chasing it, and we know what the opposition did against us, but that’s another game, another time. It might look different tomorrow, but of course you build experience with playing those types of scenarios.
“Chelsea have done it as well last year, having to turn over a two-goal deficit. I think we both possess a lot of experience at this moment, but we can only focus on ourselves and what we want to bring to the game. I think we’re quite clear on what we want to bring to the game tomorrow.”
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