Hayes content as 'boring' Blues reach knockout phase

Emma Hayes described her Chelsea side's 2-1 victory over Real Madrid as 'boring' — despite the result clinching them a Women's Champions League quarter-final spot.

A Guro Reiten penalty and a Mylene Chavas own goal either side of Athenea del Castillo's strike sealed a success which sees the Blues qualify for the last eight with a game to spare.

But Hayes pulled no punches when assessing the contest from an entertainment perspective.

The 47-year-old said: "I didn't think it was a scintillating performance. I thought it was a boring game. 

"But not every game is swashbuckling or dynamic. I thought it was quite flat.

"That's why I made the change at half-time to bring Lauren [James] in, which I thought helped. 

"We got the deserved penalty, conceded a sloppy goal but it was a really good reaction to go 2-1 up.

"Then [we] managed the game somewhat to the end in a, what would you call it, efficient manner? But it was boring if I'm being honest."

The success means Hayes can now afford to rotate for the Blues' final group stage fixture away to Paris FC.

Yet while the boss sees the perks of switching up her line-up amid a packed schedule, she is also wary of disrupting a winning side.

Hayes added: "When you're managing a squad of players it's tricky.

"I didn't want to change much [from the weekend] because you want to build the rhythm. But now the priority has to be experimenting and giving opportunities.

"For me, it's making sure we get Millie Bright back, Nathalie Bjorn registered and Catarina Macario ready. 

"Maybe there's a new player coming in at some point, too. I don't know! I won't speculate on that of course. But we need to get ourselves ready.

"If we want to progress we need to get better but I thought it was a really measured performance from us."