Women’s FA Cup & WSL roundup: Chelsea out of FA Cup & Arsenal thrash Luton
Manchester United will face Tottenham Hotspurs in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley on 12 May. United knocked out favourites Chelsea and Spurs dug deep to secure the win over Leicester deep into extra time.
In the WSL, Arsenal faced Luton and gave them a thrashing to close the gap between third-place Arsenal and second-place Chelsea. Now the Gunners are just three points behind the Blues.
Man Utd’s shock win over Chelsea
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea had a massive 70% possession, 26 shots – eight of which were on target – and nine corners. Man Utd had just two attempts on target – both were goals.
Just 60 seconds into the game, Chelsea gifted United a goal with Lucia Garcia scoring after Eve Perisset lost possession before Rachel Williams headed in another cross to put United 2-0 up after 23 minutes.
Lauren James was able to pull one back but it wasn’t enough and the Blues lost an FA Cup tie for the first time in four years. Chelsea has won the FA Cup for the last three seasons.
Only a month ago, Chelsea were talking about their chances of winning the quadruple before manager Emma Hayes leaves the club. But in a few weeks, the plans have unravelled. They lost the Conti Cup final to Arsenal and now Man United have knocked them out of the FA Cup.
Two of the four trophies have gone.
But they still face Barcelona in a two-legged Champions League semi-final as they look to become European champions for the first time.
They have won the WSL on four successive occasions and are involved in a thrilling title race with leaders Manchester City, who sit three points clear having played one game more.
With this in mind, Hayes said her side had no time to feel sorry for themselves.
“We have to get on with it, we’ve got a lot of games to go,” she added. “As always I’m reflective on what I need to do. Everyone is competitive so of course they will be disappointed.”
For Man United, playing in front of 6,876 at home and securing their place in the final is a massive achievement. It has been a tough season for United after they were runners-up to Chelsea in both the WSL and FA Cup last term.
United sit fourth in the WSL, nine points behind third-placed Arsenal who also occupy the final Champions League qualifying spot.
But this cup win gives Marc Skinner’s side a chance to salvage something special from their campaign.
They will be confident of claiming the team’s first major trophy in the May final as they convincingly won 4-0 away against Tottenham in December.
Spurs book spot at Wembley
Tottenham 2-1 Leicester
Tottenham have made history by booking their place at Wembley next month where they’ll face Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Man Utd were last season’s FA Cup runners-up but have struggled in the league this season, boosting Spur’s chance of some silverware.
Having beat Leicester 2-1 in front of 18,078 fans, Tottenham celebrated wildly. Spurs are still finding their feet in the professional space, having only gained promotion to the WSL in 2019.
Jutta Rantala had put Leicester ahead early with a wonderful long-range strike in normal time, before Jessica Naz equalised, racing through to slot it past goalkeeper Lize Kop.
Martha Thomas’s looping header deep in extra time gave Tottenham the victory.
Tottenham were roared on by a vibrant home crowd and continued to push for a winner. It was a frenetic match, with plenty of chances for both sides, but Spurs came out on top to create history for their club, and they will meet Manchester United in the final at Wembley on 12 May.
WSL: Arsenal thrash Luton to close gap at top
Arsenal 5-0 Bristol City
Arsenal brushed aside WSL strugglers Bristol City to continue their push for Champions League qualification.
The Gunners moved nine points clear of fourth-placed Manchester United with Sunday’s dominant victory as bottom club Bristol City endured a 13th successive game without a win.
Bristol sat deep in a back five but Arsenal still managed to score within seven minutes as Beth Mead tapped in a close-range Caitlin Foord effort that bounced off the post. By the 32nd minute, Mead had scored her second.
Any hopes of finding a way back into the game were quickly dashed by an own goal from defender Ella Powell.
In the second half, Alessia Russo scored twice – one from the edge of the area and the other curing past the keeper from inside the box.
With four games remaining third-placed Arsenal’s advantage over United should be enough to seal a spot in Europe, while Bristol City have a seven-point gap to West Ham in the fight to avoid relegation.