Chelsea took the driver’s seat with emphatic dominance on Friday evening at Stamford Bridge, as finishes from both Lauren James and Sjoeke Nüsken saw the hosts deliver a 3-1 blow to the sails of their London rivals in Arsenal.

First speaking on the sock blunder caused by the visitors, Hayes urged that no blame should be thrown in the face of the Arsenal kit man.

“Because of who I am, I’m not going to throw the kit man under the bus. He will be feeling terrible this evening, it was a mistake.”

Despite wanting to offer their services, Chelsea didn’t have an alternative option for the kit clash as notice was taken too close to kick off. Hayes expressed, “If this was an away game we would have had white and blue, but because it was a home game we knew three weeks in advance we’d be wearing white socks, we’re the home team.”

She continued “But because we didn’t have blue, I couldn’t just say don’t worry about it, we’ll put the blue socks on, because we didn’t have them.”

Hayes’s Chelsea outfit proved dominant on the occasion, providing the Gunners no breathing room to fight back across the 90 minutes. Stamford Bridge provided a brilliant atmosphere, as 32,970 fans piled through the turnstiles to witness an empathic Blues display.

Hayes reflected on the evening, stating “I just love there being a big crowd, I really did. I loved seeing the away section, the whole rivalries that come with the women’s game. It’s fun to see an Arsenal section sold out, and then the rest of the stadium. There was a noise to it, there was an atmosphere– I’m really proud of the whole club tonight.”

Hayes was found making headlines during the week, after the manager made a comment in regards to player-player relationships within the sport. Jess Carter was seen liking posts on X surrounding the controversy, something that Hayes cleared up in her post match press conference.

“Of course I’ve spoken with her. Of course Jess and I have had a conversation today, as I’ve had with other players in the team. They know exactly who I am, and they know exactly what my intentions were. But I have to expect that I’m supposed to be the most well-trained, non-clickbait headline coach, and I let myself down yesterday.

I didn’t think it was right for me to use the word ‘inappropriate’ for the players. Nonetheless when we have honest conversations with those things, I don’t take those things back, but I have zero criticism of any player in my dressing room for anything.”

Despite what has been an onslaught of injury concerns for the Blues throughout the week, Chelsea delivered a stellar display to dominate their London rivals on the occasion. Hayes spoke on her side’s reaction to the squad list set-backs, packing on the praise for the team.

“Maybe it’s something I’ll reflect on in years to come, but we seem to do really well in adverse situations. It’s been a tough period, it’s been a tough day for us, but we’re good at this. Trust me, that team is one thousand percent together in what we’re doing, and that was demonstrated in the performance.”

Chelsea now sit six points ahead of their London rivals, as the Barclays Women’s Super League title race continues to reach maximum temperature.