Chelsea win Women's League Cup
Chelsea 2 - 1 Manchester City
Chelsea claimed their first trophy under Sonia Bompastor with a narrow victory over Manchester City in the Women’s League Cup final, keeping their pursuit of a historic quadruple firmly on track.
Bompastor has made an immediate impact since replacing Emma Hayes last May, winning 26 of her 28 matches in charge.
Mayra Ramírez gave Chelsea the perfect start at Derby County’s Pride Park, bundling home from close range after City captain Laia Aleixandri inadvertently diverted the ball into her path.
Aoba Fujino levelled after the break with a stunning strike, but an unfortunate own goal from Yui Hasegawa restored Chelsea’s advantage and ended their three-year run of heartbreak in League Cup finals.
City, playing their first match under interim boss Nick Cushing following Gareth Taylor’s sacking just five days ago, dominated possession after Chelsea’s early breakthrough.
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However, they struggled to carve out clear-cut chances, with Chelsea’s centre-back pairing of Millie Bright and Nathalie Björn holding firm. The best City could muster in the first half were a handful of speculative efforts from distance.
Chelsea looked to have regained control after the restart, only for Fujino’s thunderous strike to fly past Hannah Hampton and into the roof of the net. But just as City looked to build momentum, Hasegawa’s misfortune handed Chelsea the winner—her attempted clearance looping into her own net after Ramírez whipped in a low cross on a difficult, bobbly pitch.
Bompastor’s side remain firmly in contention for the Champions League and FA Cup, while they have one hand on a sixth consecutive Women’s Super League (WSL) title, sitting eight points clear with six games remaining.
This final marked the start of an intense 12-day run in which Chelsea and City will face each other four times in a row.
Can Chelsea make even more history this season?
Chelsea win Women's League Cup Highlights here - youtu.be/9ZzwNpEEheE?...
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Despite their quadruple bid remaining intact, Chelsea’s performance at Pride Park was far from their best. However, they still got the job done.
They were gifted an early lead when Catarina Macario sliced through City’s defence before playing in Ramírez. The Colombian striker’s initial effort was well saved by Ayaka Yamashita, but the ball ricocheted off Aleixandri and fell kindly for Ramírez to slot home.
READ MORE: Some of the latest Chelsea news and stories can be found here
Their winner also came from a moment of misfortune for City, as a difficult playing surface contributed to Hasegawa’s own goal, with the ball bouncing awkwardly before she turned it into her own net.
Chelsea’s celebrations at full-time were subdued, a sign that they knew this had been more of a survival job than a statement victory. But with one trophy in the bag and three more still within reach, Bompastor’s side march on.
