Nick Cushing's 'tactical masterclass' as Man City beat Chelsea

For Nick Cushing, the interim head coach of Manchester City Women, the past week has been a rollercoaster. After a narrow defeat to Chelsea in the Women's League Cup final, Coach Cushing had only five days to prepare for another clash with the same team in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.

However, Coach Cushing not only boosted the team's morale but also led them to a 2-0 victory over Chelsea at home, thanks to a brace from substitute Vivianne Miedema. This victory ended Chelsea's 31-game unbeaten streak in all competitions this season, handing their opponents their first defeat of the season.

"Of course, the victory is important, but being able to come back here and play in front of the fans... this is the first time I've been back here since [2019]," Coach Cushing said. "For me, it's important that the team can show what I think represents our performance at home – I really wanted to win this game for the fans."

After the game, Coach Cushing could not hide his excitement, smiling as he walked around the pitch at home, applauding the fans. He stayed on the sidelines, enjoying the fans singing "Blue Moon" and "City, City, City."

Former Manchester City midfielder Izzy Christiansen praised Coach Cushing's tactics as "tactical masterclass," but Coach Cushing insisted that the foundation had already been laid, and the key was belief. "For me, it's important to make sure we can compete with the top teams. To win trophies, you have to beat the strongest opponents," Coach Cushing said. "We have to be a threat at every stage of the game and show our presence. That's how you win key games that are evenly matched."

Manchester City showed strong control early in the game and dominated possession, but the situation kept changing during a tense first half. In the second half, Coach Cushing changed the formation from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and brought on Miedema as a substitute, who was recovering from knee surgery, which had a significant impact.

After the League Cup final defeat, Coach Cushing called on the team to show courage and confidence, and Miedema believes they did. "So far, Champions League nights at home have been very special, so I'm very happy we won the game," Miedema told BBC Sport. "You always want to start, but I can't play four 90-minute games in a row yet. We need to stay sensible. [Coach Cushing] really wants us to go forward and take risks. At times, we did that very well. Hopefully, we can step it up a level on Sunday and Thursday."

Upon his return to England, Coach Cushing immediately faced the daunting challenge of four consecutive games against Chelsea. The club's decision to sack Gareth Taylor in the week of the cup final was bold, and Coach Cushing had not been involved in coaching women's football for five years.

But former Chelsea midfielder Karen Carney said that Coach Cushing was a "key factor" in Manchester City's 2-0 victory. "He deserves a lot of credit. At half-time, I thought it was the same old story – I thought Chelsea would win as usual," Carney told TNT Sports. "But this time, the biggest difference was the Manchester City coach. He made a different game plan and brought out the team's full potential. Manchester City pressed [Chelsea]. They were very aggressive. Coach Cushing brought on Miedema, who showed two brilliant moments. The coach did a great job."

Coach Cushing said he was happy to accept the tactical challenge with Sonia Bompastor. In addition to adjusting the formation and encouraging the players to be more proactive, he also added a member to the coaching team – former England captain Steph Houghton joined him on the sidelines during Wednesday's game.

"Taking over the team mid-season is not ideal. Taking over the team five days before the cup final, playing the same team four times in a row, and a team that hasn't lost, is definitely not ideal," Coach Cushing said. "But the bigger the challenge, the more exciting it is. We lost the final, which was very difficult – but we won tonight, and we will keep moving forward."

During Coach Cushing's previous tenure, Manchester City reached the Women's Champions League semi-finals twice – he hopes to achieve this goal again next week.