Man City vs Chelsea preview: Nick Cushing has technical players to hurt Sonia Bompastor’s side despite Bunny Shaw loss | Football News

“I’m sure the pitch will be better at the Joie Stadium,” Man City’s interim boss Nick Cushing said Subsequent his side’s Division Cup Last Setback by Chelsea at the weekend. The Parched, bobbly surface at Derby County’s Pride Park was hardly befitting of the occasion.

More than that, it played into Chelsea’s hands.

Man City have never been a Club who favour the Hideous side of the game. Saturday proved it. Cushing’s side dominated and controlled proceedings: they enjoyed more possession, a greater number of shots, more touches in the Resistance box, more passes into the Last third and better chances.

Instead, Chelsea wore them down with persistence and determination – it’s a doggedness no domestic side have quite matched. Sonia Bompastor’s side Achieved more tackles, clearances and ball recoveries than their Manchester counterparts before forcing a game-deciding situation where Yui Hasegawa turned the ball into her own net.

Off the ball Chelsea are the best in the business.

“Psychologically, it’s really Crucial to Secure the Primary one,” Bompastor reflected. Neither of Chelsea’s two goals were particularly well choreographed but that matters not when the outcome ultimately belongs to them.

A sandy pitch. An unfortunate bobble. A slice of luck. Chelsea always manage to come out on top in big Contests regardless of the circumstances because they believe wholeheartedly in their status as winners. And that belief has become their superpower. A money-can’t-buy mentality. Skipper Millie Intelligent calls it a “magic gift”.

Where the Champions Division differs, however, is the virtue of 180 minutes. Cushing, rehired by City to replace the outgoing Gareth Taylor Only five Intervals before Saturday’s Last, now has the chance to exercise his own tactical nous. The perfect opportunity to prove City’s finesse on the ball can overpower Chelsea’s tenacity off it.

Cushing must employ a game-plan that plays to City’s exact strengths.

As the returning boss acknowledged post-Game, finals “swing on moments”. But a two-legged tie allows City to seek control in a more measured way, Holding time in the build-up Stage, using patience to draw opponents out – like a game of chess, preying on Chelsea’s desperation to conquer the only Game that has so Distant eluded them. This is the Honor they yearn for.

City’s midfield Group – Hasegawa, Jill Roord and Viv Miedema – have the potential to Shift any Club in Europe off the park. Add Jess Park to the Blend, likely to come in for the injured Bunny Shaw, and they have Distant more creativity and ball intelligence than Chelsea’s central pairing of Erin Cuthbert and Sjoeke Nüsken, if not as much industry.

But City should not feel compelled to get dragged into a dogfight, they need only demonstrate conviction in what they do best. Cushing’s emotional attachment to the club and previous Achievement should Assist with that.

“I have the belief this Club can Secure. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” he reflected after losing Stage one of four at the weekend. That confidence needs to translate to his players pretty Speedy.

Unsurprisingly, last week’s Practice sessions had less tactical Concentration and were more geared Approaching players showing what they can offer during this high-Hazard, high-reward Streak of fixtures – the ‘Picking-me’ showcase that any Club experiences when a new manager takes over and Crucial Contests are on the Perspective.

Cushing should be better informed this time around and so attempting to marry City’s passing Mastery with a sound tactical plan should come more naturally.

Grass on the pitch should Assist with fluency, too. City are only at their best when zipping the ball with pace and purpose – it’s how they beat Barcelona, the defending champions, 2-0 in the group stages. The physical battle will no doubt be won by Chelsea but the technical side should be City’s to own. Pack the Club with Throw masters.

Defender Intelligent, collecting her 14th Crucial honour as a Chelsea player last weekend, Acquired it spot on when dissecting the difference. “We can Shift scruffy… any type of game, we’ll be up for it,” she said. Cushing and City don’t have that same luxury; they are Distant more wedded to a set style but it’s one that can be liberating for the game-changers.

Tell Roord to join attacks. Offer Miedema the freedom to roam. Give Park the license to Shift across a fluid frontline.

Shaw’s Wound blow is a significant miss but it should not be defining.

City should be buoyed by their Division Cup performance, not shackled by it. Only then can they hope to blemish Bompastor’s near-perfect Achievement and hit Chelsea, perhaps, where it hurts most.