Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says she had to make full use of her squad as the Blues secured an important 1-0 win against Manchester United at the weekend.

Hayes believes the victory was an even bigger achievement coming off the back of the Continental Cup final and the WSL fixture against Brighton:

“That was our third game in a week, and it’s three points. We’ve had injuries and illness in the squad so to do that shows exactly why the squad matters. We knew we would be without the ball, so we had to be structured and defensively I thought we were. I think we could have won by more.”

Chelsea have now leapfrogged United in the table following the result at Kingsmeadow. The fact that they also have a game in hand over their rivals means they could even stretch out their lead at the top in the coming weeks.

Hayes’s side won’t be in action again in the WSL before they face another title contender, Manchester City, at the end of this month. Before then, the Blues take on Reading in the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, followed by a trip to France for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Lyon on Wednesday week.