Ann-Katrin Berger’s 33rd-minute red card was a ‘game-changer’ for Chelsea as they fought back to win 3-1 away at Tottenham, according to Emma Hayes.
The Chelsea boss was delighted with the way her side responded after Berger was sent off for a collision with Rachel Williams with the game at 1-1.
Guro Reiten had cancelled out a Sophie Ingle own goal before Sam Kerr, and Jessie Fleming handed Chelsea a crucial victory in their push to retain the Barclays FA Women’s Super League title.
“That was so much fun,” Hayes said. “I think the game had everything, and it didn’t surprise me.
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"I know the pitch is a leveller, and you can't legislate for it. I said to them at half-time don't talk about it, I don't want to know about it. And how about we get our foot stuck in because I didn't think we did that first half.
"The corner that goes in, in all the years I've been in, I've never seen that go in against us. It's going to happen.
"The goal we scored, that's your little bit of luck, I guess, and even though I thought aggression wise they were on top of the game, then there's the red card.
"It was a game-changer in that we went down to ten, and it was a game-changer because we actually improved."
Despite the player advantage, Spurs' Tinja-Riikka Korpela was the busier keeper in the second half, saving from Kerr at close range.
However, she couldn't stop the Australian from heading in to give Chelsea the lead before Fleming rifled home from 20 yards out to seal the victory.
Chelsea sits four points clear of Arsenal with a match in hand with three games of the season remaining.
Hayes added: "We agreed, together, at half-time how we were going to deal with the second half, including in and out of possession and at re-starts. And I thought that was the game-changer, what we did tactically.
"I think in crisis, my team does really well and rarely in the last few years when we've been in crisis have we gone under.
"I thought that was an amazing, amazing display of courage, confidence, conviction – all those things you cannot understate."
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