Goals from Erin Cuthbert, Melanie Leupolz and Bethany England secured a 3-0 win at The Academy Stadium to book our place in the FA Cup final where we will take on Arsenal at Wembley in December.

It was a dominant performance from the Blues and Hayes praised her players' display in a game that came after a gruelling international break.

She said: ‘It’s a real hard game straight after an international camp. There’s been players playing all over the place, Australia, America, all over Europe.

‘It was a professional performance, and our mentality was fantastic from the off. The way we pressed, the way we counter-pressed, we had a strong intent and desire. We came here and put in the performance needed after a big international camp.’

Chelsea now have a chance to get our hands on a trophy we last won in 2018 when we take on Arsenal on Sunday 5 December and Hayes is looking forward to the showdown at Wembley.

She added: ‘I’m delighted. It’s the one day of the week I’ve only got to go down the road to a football stadium [Hayes lives not far from Wembley], so I’m over the moon! It just happens to be the biggest and the home of national football.

‘As a kid, I’ve always wanted to be there in some capacity. I never thought that I would do it as a coach which now I’ve been there a few times and I want to go there and win.’

Lauren James was included in the matchday squad for the first time since signing for the club in the summer.

The 19-year-old didn’t feature in Sunday’s semi-final victory, but Hayes confirmed both James and Maren Mjelde will play some part in an Academy fixture mid-week as they step up their return to full fitness.

‘I was so happy for Lauren,’ said Hayes. ‘She wasn’t going to be in the squad but with Pernille [Harder] pulling out yesterday, I said do you want to come, be in the squad, be around the team and she said yes I’m going home, and she drove home to get her kitbag.

‘I was never going to put her on. She still needs a little bit of time. She is going to play in an Academy game on Wednesday with Maren [Mjelde] and that’s going to be an opportunity for those two players to really kick on. My assistant Denise Reddy has done an amazing job with them to get them to a place where they can come in and really help the team.’

The FA Cup final will take place on Sunday 5 December and kick-off at 2pm. Tickets for the clash at Wembley start from as little as £2.50 for children and can be purchased here.