Only two teams have managed to stop the seemingly indomitable Chelsea in the Women’s Super League this season.
Before Brighton’s admirable efforts on Sunday to hold Chelsea to a 2-2 draw, Leicester City were the only side to steal a point from the Champions.
Chelsea remain unbeaten and Leicester will be hoping for the same if not more when they travel to Meadow Park, live on Sky, on Wednesday.
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Highlights of the Women’s Super League match between Leicester City and Chelsea
“When you play a team like Chelsea, the only thing you can do is get the result,” Leicester boss Amandine Miquel told Sky Sports.
“The pressure is more on them for them to miss something. The state of mind was really important for the players to defend together.”
“We focused a lot on the defensive aspects. That definitely helped us on that last game of the first phase because we were really strong defensively. We were a team that conceded very few goals and we were defending well in a block.
“So this was something that we built on over the games to arrive against Chelsea, knowing that there was no pressure on us. We had the luck to score on one of our rare attacks, which does make a big difference against Chelsea.
“And then when you’re leading against Chelsea, it gives the players energy. It’s so unusual but I think this gives a lift to any player being leading against Chelsea and makes you want to keep it as long as you can and we nearly did.”
Wednesday 5th March 7:00pm
Kick off 7:30pm
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Keira Walsh opens up on her return to the Women’s Super League, why she chose Chelsea, working with Sonia Bompastor and becoming a leader for England
Miquel’s side took the lead for just over 50 minutes against Chelsea. Missy Goodwin handed the Foxes an advantage before Chelsea’s Wieke Kaptein responded late on to claw back a point. Crucially though, Leicester scored with their only shot on target.
“As we saw against Brighton, they’re human beings and sometimes they’ve got some down moments where they’re a bit less focused or they’re running a bit more or a bit less or the intensity is lower,” Miquel said.
“That’s when a team like mine or any team under them in the table need to take advantage of those rare moments. But they are a strong team and I’d say the whole squad, because the ones that come in also, and the ones that don’t come in are very good. Some of us would be really happy to get those in our team to play 10 minutes!”
Like Chelsea and former Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor, Miquel took over this summer after managing in France with the Leicester boss spending seven years at Reims. Familiar with Bompastor from their clashes in France, Miquel isn’t shocked by her impact.
“Bompastor has a hate for defeat,” Miquel told Sky Sports.
“Even draws, and for her, it’s unusual. Even losing a point for them, I think it takes them three days to come back from that. So they’re very upset about the first game.
“I expected her to do what she’s done because she was coaching Lyon, so we played her in similar situations with a great team, with great individuals. And when you have those type of players and you manage to have a clear game plan and the connections are working, then it’s much easier.”
Watch Chelsea vs Brighton in the Women’s Super League, live on Sky Sports football with kick-off at 7.30pm.
