Chelsea: How Emma Hayes balances two international keepers - with a third on the way

Ann-Katrin Berger played a cardinal relation successful Chelsea's melodramatic triumph implicit Lyon successful the Champions League

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has often spoken of her tendency to person 2 world-class players for each position, including successful goal.

"Hayes wants to triumph the Champions League. She knows to bash that you indispensable person internationals astatine each level," erstwhile England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis told BBC Sport. "Lyon person that, Barcelona person that."

Berger, shortlisted for the Best Fifa Women's Goalkeeper Award, has produced immoderate stellar performances this play - the standout coming against Lyon successful the Champions League quarter-finals, wherever her punishment shootout saves earned Chelsea victory.

This has travel against the backdrop of her having treatment for thyroid cancer for a 2nd time, aft the unwellness returned during Germany's tally to the Euro 2022 final, making nights similar the 1 against Lyon adjacent much remarkable.

"She has done phenomenally good to travel back," Siobhan Chamberlain, different erstwhile England goalkeeper, told BBC Sport. "I cannot ideate what she has been through.

"You request back-up if she needs clip out. If you person 1 missing, you request 2 top-quality keepers.

"You tin person a kid connected the bench, but if you truly privation to triumph titles each the squad needs to beryllium susceptible astatine the apical level."

How bash you header with being fig two?

Zecira Musovic has started successful extremity for 9 of Chelsea's past 16 fixtures

Yet Berger, 32, has been susceptible to errors this season, notably successful the 1-1 Champions League gully against Real Madrid successful December, erstwhile her clearance fell to the feet of Caroline Weir who accepted the acquisition and slotted into an bare nett from 22 yards.

Three days later, Berger conceded 2 goals successful arsenic galore minutes against Reading, allowing Sanne Troelsgaard's changeable to squirm nether her assemblage for the first.

This saw Musovic, 26, travel successful for the adjacent six games, including the 1-1 league gully astatine Arsenal erstwhile the Swede made a bid of good saves earlier Sam Kerr's precocious equaliser.

Although Berger returned to the squad successful February, Hayes has continued to swap her keepers, with Musovic playing against Brighton and Aston Villa successful the Women's Super League (WSL), arsenic good arsenic the FA Cup quarter-final triumph implicit Reading.

While successful different positions substitutions and rotations are much common, not truthful among the goalkeepers. The equilibrium betwixt supporting team-mates and the tendency for first-team shot is much delicate than anyplace other connected the squad - thing Brown-Finnis has first-hand acquisition of.

"I was England fig one, but I was injured astatine Everton and the different keeper did a bully occupation truthful the manager kept her in," she said. "Communication is crucial. You person to recognize the different keeper is successful for a reason.

"If the manager is communicating that portion you're retired injured, you judge that decision. The clarity of connection has to beryllium the biggest thing, to recognize wherever you are.

"With England, I've been fig one, 2 and three. In the expansive strategy of a career, you person to judge that - not enactment your feet up, but enactment retired what you person to bash to enactment harder."

Musovic addressed this successful an interrogation with the Chelsea matchday programme successful February, saying: "We are each highly competitory but we besides cognize that we are a squad wrong the team, and we request to enactment each other.

"I'm conscionable trying to beryllium the champion mentation of myself, and that includes being a bully team-mate and supporting them. I cognize that erstwhile they bash it well, I request to bash it adjacent better, truthful we thrust each different to the champion authorities possible."

What neither keeper tin afford, says Chamberlain, is to let their idiosyncratic ambitions to hamper the team, oregon to let a tendency for regular crippled clip to descend into sick volition towards their counterparts.

"You don't privation the keeper up of you to marque a mistake, arsenic you don't privation that arsenic an idiosyncratic yourself," she said. "It's astir wanting to thrust yourself to beryllium amended than them - it mightiness beryllium 5 games, oregon 5 months, but you request to thrust the standards up alternatively than resistance idiosyncratic other down.

"If you person that, past the goalkeeper national volition thrive."

And Evrard makes three

Chelsea person agreed a woody to motion Belgium goalkeeper Nicky Evrard from Leuven

If it was tricky capable to take betwixt 2 planetary keepers this play for Hayes, adjacent play she looks acceptable to person three.

Berger and Musovic, who person contracts lasting until 2024 and 2025 respectively, volition beryllium joined by Belgium's Nicky Evrard, 26, who has signed a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea.

"Evrard would not person signed unless determination was clarity and favoritism betwixt keepers, trying to triumph silverware arsenic a starter oregon otherwise," said Brown-Finnis.

"I get wherefore you would question wherefore a subordinate would privation to get not arsenic fig one, but that is the beingness of a goalkeeper."

Chamberlain says Hayes' estimation for subordinate absorption volition beryllium important - but keeping each 3 blessed could beryllium difficult.

"When you person 3 planetary keepers, their countries volition beryllium saying you request to beryllium playing," she said.