Manchester City successfully sought revenge against Chelsea for their Subway Women’s League Cup defeat on Saturday by claiming a 2-0 win over the Blues in the first leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final.
A double from Vivianne Miedema puts the Cityzens in pole position to progress to the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition, and Nick Cushing insisted that he is “really proud of the performance.”
Chelsea were previously unbeaten in all competitions since Sonia Bompastor’s arrival at the start of the season, and Cushing told reporters post-match that Wednesday’s visitors “are a top team – their league position reflects that.”
“We knew we’d have to dig in at times and we knew we needed to be a threat in different moments of the game,” he continued.
“My aim is for this team to be a threat in every moment. We’re a very good possession team but we have to be aggressive defensively and be a threat defensively.”
He added: “We’re at home so we want to be a threat in every moment whether we’re defending or in possession. For me, it’s about making sure our fans are proud of our performance and we have the belief we can go and win against anybody. You saw the Barcelona game and tonight was no different.”
With games coming thick and fast as City approach the latter stages of the season, Cushing stressed the importance of squad rotation.
“To be competitive in every competition and this stage of the season you need everybody. I said that to the group, we’ll need to rotate at times. We need everyone in these moments and I was pleased tonight with how we sustained the performance.”
It’s a particularly vital element for Cushing’s side as they face the third of four successive matches against Chelsea this weekend, in a Barclays Women’s Super League clash at Etihad Stadium. For the 40-year-old, City “should believe we can go anywhere and win, and put in a performance that can hurt the opposition whilst respecting it’s going to be incredibly difficult.”
“Our focus shifts to the league game now, we’re at the Etihad and have to repeat the performance to win, then we’ll focus on Chelsea [in the second leg of the UWCL] knowing it’s going to be a really difficult moment.”