'It has felt strange' - Emma Hayes speaks out after 'emotional' final home game with Chelsea as USWNT-bound coach claims Bristol City WSL romp was a 'performance worthy of champions'

Hayes' Chelsea side stormed to an astounding 8-0 victory over Bristol City to send a stark warning to league leaders Manchester City. The Blues boss described managing her final home game as "strange" but was delighted to score such a huge victory that re-opens the WSL title race. Hayes is set to leave the Blues to join the USWNT at the end of the season and is dreaming of ending with another league title.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Hayes said: "It's emotional. I have had a lot going on thinking about it [her departure]. I have spent a third of my life doing this with Chelsea. It has been my home, my family. My family have been here with me, my son has been born here. I experienced my dad dying in the last year in a club that has been my entire heart.

"It has felt strange for me in the last couple of months but I am grateful. I look out tonight and see the fans and I feel the love and I feel the love for the team and it is all I have ever really wanted.

"These are my people, this is my community, I'd go to war with them and I have done. I wouldn't change a single day and I am grateful to have been given the honour to be manager of this team."

It has been a mixed second half of the season for Hayes and Chelsea who, going for a quadruple, were knocked out of the Conti Cup, FA Cup and Champions League in the space of just over a month.

"We've had some disappointments, no question, but I think the players wanted to put in a performance that was worthy of what champions look like," Hayes explained. "We didn't want to go out on a whimper, for Fran [Kirby], for Maren [Mjelde], we wanted to make it a game to remember for the fans."

With just the WSL title left up for grabs, Chelsea needed a miracle to catch leaders Manchester City, who could have gone within one point of all-but-sealing the WSL title on Sunday.

However, a late Stina Blackstenius brace for Arsenal snatched victory away from City. Chelsea's eight goals then put the title back in their own hands after overhauling City's superior goal difference.

Hayes could not believe Sunday's events. She said: "What are the chances of that? That at the beginning of the day that Arsenal would beat City late on and we would win 8-0, what are the odds of that? That shows you what you can do when you have belief.

"I said to the players that we have to be ready. If Man City slip up, we have to be ready. Today was another opportunity for us to get closer to something that was slipping out of our grasp quite honestly. I am super proud. Everything Chelsea represents was shown there today."

Chelsea and Hayes make the short trip to north London to take on Spurs on Wednesday hoping to take full advantage of their game in hand over Manchester City. Should they win, they will go into the final game of the season against Manchester United top of the league. City have to travel to Aston Villa knowing they have serious work to improve their goal difference to potentially pip Chelsea to the title.