‘We can’t drop our standards’ – Bompastor calls for Chelsea’s best version against Liverpool | OneFootball

Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor says that her side will need to show the best version of themselves when they play host to Liverpool in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup semi-finals this weekend.

The Blues take on The Reds at Kingsmeadow on Saturday afternoon. The winners of the tie will advance to next month’s Wembley showpiece.

Chelsea were almost untouchable in the first half of the season but they have recently faced some tough challenges and have dropped points against Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United. Liverpool could present a similar banana skin for The Blues and head coach Bompastor says that her side will have to be on top form this weekend.

“We had a review this morning with the team and talked a little bit about that,” Bompastor said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “In March, we dropped four points against Brighton and West Ham. As a team, we can’t drop our standards like we did in those games. It is up to us to ensure that we have this ruthless mentality as a team.

“For the game tomorrow, I just want to see the best version of Chelsea on the pitch. The best version of ourselves was probably the game we had against Man City in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final but also, the first 30 minutes against West Ham.

“If you analyse the games, every detail is important, so we just need to make sure that the details tomorrow are set up and we execute the game plan in the right way.”

Liverpool saw-off the threat of Arsenal in the previous round and Bompastor expects The Reds to be motivated to cause an upset again.

She said “Liverpool are on a really good run, a really good dynamic in terms of results and performances. We expect to face a team that are hugely motivated for the game tomorrow.

“It’s an FA Cup semi-final and there’s the opportunity to reach a Wembley final, so it says a lot for the motivation that both teams will bring into the game.

“We expect a tough game again because they’ve been on a good run and have had good results. We also want to focus on ourselves and if we show our best version, we can make the final. We are playing at home with the support of our fans, so there’s lots of positivity.”

While Wembley awaits the winners, Bompastor is keen to keep Chelsea’s focus on their semi-final tie.

She said “First of all, we need to focus on the game tomorrow; to have the opportunity to play and qualify for the final.

“For me, Wembley represents football in England. When you look at the games that have been played there both for the women’s and men’s teams, there’s a lot of history. The stadium has been sold out many times when the women’s team has played there, so it’s a big opportunity for players and managers to be a part of that.

“It will be a real positive thing for me if we can qualify for the final but again, first of all, the focus is on the game tomorrow, that’s really important.”

Chelsea’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup semi-final tie against Liverpool kicks-off at 12.15pm on Saturday afternoon.