Key events
3 min: Mannion plays a clever pass through to Terland, who taps the ball short to Bizet. The winger then looks to make the cross, but her effort is cut out by Girma.
1 min: Bizet wins the ball from Cuthbert in midfield and United look to move forward. A pass is played out to George on the left, who attempts to float a cross into the box, but the ball runs behind for a goal kick.
KICK-OFF
Here we go! We’re under way at Wembley!
Tennis legend Serena Williams and her husband, Alexis Ohanian – who has just purchased a 10% stake in Chelsea Women – are both at Wembley today.
Tom Garry
Olly Murs is now performing on a stage in the centre circle, as flamethrowers shoot into the air around him. Apparently he just wants us to dance with him tonight.
The teams are out! The atmosphere at Wembley Stadium is absolutely electric! Kick-off is just a few minutes away!
Some of you may be wondering if VAR will be in use this afternoon. And the answer to that would be… yes. For just the third time in the competition’s history, VAR will be used in the Women’s FA Cup final.
Mitre Golden Ball award
Preston North End forward Madison Hadley is set to win the Mitre Golden Ball award this afternoon. The award is handed to the player with the most goals scored in an FA Cup campaign. Hadley managed 11 goals in the competition this term. The top scorers from the two remaining teams are; Celin Bizet (4), Ella Toone (3) and Aggie Beever-Jones (2).
Hadley will carry the match ball out onto the pitch ahead of the match after receiving her award from Hope Powell.
Ahead of today’s match, Manchester United manager Marc Skinner said: “Results-wise, Chelsea are the best team and the hardest team to come up against. If you know anything about us, we are rebels and we don’t like just accepting this is the case. I am a rebel, my nature is rebellious so for me, it is about not accepting that just because they have the best resources, they have to be the best team on every occasion.
“When you set yourself up for that challenge and you know you will have to go through hell to get the victory, if you prepare for that, then I believe you can do something special.”
Sonia Bompastor is aiming to become the first non-British manager to win the Women’s FA Cup since Pedro Martínez Losa in 2016. Martínez Losa won the trophy with Arsenal against Chelsea nine years ago. Danielle Carter scored the decisive goal in that game with a fantastic curled effort into the top-right corner to see the Gunners claim their 14th title.
Ahead of today’s match, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said: “We started the season with a lot of ambition. From the beginning, we said we wanted to win four trophies, and that’s always been the aim. Going into this last game, and last week of training sessions, we’ve kept the same high standards. We want to work hard on the pitch to succeed until the end.
“It will mean a lot for me to coach at Wembley. It’s such a historic stadium and part of English history. I didn’t have a great result there in my playing career, but I hope it will be different on Sunday. I’ve watched the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium before when it’s been full, and it’s just incredible to see all the atmosphere around the final. We must anticipate this as a big, big thing on Sunday.”
Tom Garry
The Manchester United defender Gabby George will today banish the memories of missing two FA Cup finals because of two separate anterior cruciate ligament injuries, as she fulfils a childhood dream of playing for Manchester United at Wembley.
The lifelong United fan did play an FA Cup final for Everton in 2014 at Stadium:MK as a teenager but then missed Everton’s 2020 FA Cup final appearance because of an ACL and then again had to watch on from the stands due to another injury last season, when Marc Skinner’s side won the cup.
“The second time was tougher because we actually won it,” George recalls. “The club made me feel part of the day but you can never change the feeling of wanting to help the team. I was still buzzing because I was there when we won our first major trophy – as a Manchester United fan growing up, that’s what dreams are made of – but I had moments like when they walked up the stairs where I was just watching it and it was tough. It’s bittersweet isn’t it, but we’ve got another opportunity to do it. It’s third-time lucky for me.”
After a year out, George returned to this side and cemented her place at the start of this season and adds: “My aim when I returned was to enjoy football and that’s what I’ve done this season. The squad has made that so much easier. They’re good people. We all stick together through tough times and good times.
“The 10-year-old Gabby would be absolutely screaming, over the moon. I’m a Man Utd fan living my dream every single day. I’m lucky that I get to do that. It’s surreal to be here and achieve things that 10-year-old Gabby would have wanted.”
Tom Garry also travelled over to Guernsey to speak to Manchester United captain Maya Le Tissier and those who know her best.
Chelsea’s road to the final:
Sonia Bompastor insists today’s final will be “50-50” between her Chelsea team and Manchester United.
Manchester United’s road to the final:
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R4: Manchester United 7-0 West Brom
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R5: Wolves 0-6 Manchester United
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QF: Manchester United 3-1 Sunderland
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SF: Manchester City 0-2 Manchester United
Ahead of today’s final, our very own Tom Garry sat down with Manchester United manager Marc Skinner to discuss the club’s season and this afternoon’s match at Wembley.
In what may come as quite a shock to some fans, Ella Toone starts on the bench for Manchester United. The midfielder scored a stunning goal for United in last year’s final against Tottenham, but she misses out on a place in Marc Skinner’s starting XI this time around. Likely a tactical decision from the manager.
Team news
Chelsea starting line-up: Hannah Hampton; Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright (C), Nathalie Björn, Naomi Girma, Niamh Charles; Keira Walsh, Erin Cuthbert; Aggie Beever-Jones, Mayra Ramírez, Sandy Baltimore. Substitutes: Becky Spencer, Sjoeke Nüsken, Catarina Macario, Guro Reiten, Ashley Lawrence, Wieke Kaptein, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Maika Hamano, Oriane Jean-François.
Manchester United starting line-up: Phallon Tullis-Joyce; Gabby George, Maya Le Tissier (C), Millie Turner, Aoife Mannion; Dominique Janssen, Hinata Miyazawa, Grace Clinton; Leah Galton, Elisabeth Terland, Celin Bizet. Substitutes: Safia Middleton-Patel, Kayla Rendell, Anna Sandberg, Simi Awujo, Lisa Naalsund, Ella Toone, Mared Griffiths, Melvine Malard, Rachel Williams.
Now it’s time for Manchester United to check out the pitch…
Tom Garry
ABBA songs are blasting into the skies from the fan zone, families are enjoying picnics under these cloudy skies and the atmosphere is all very calm. Not a hint of crowd trouble, as you’d expect. Off to the right of Olympic Way, a gathering of United fans are dancing to a club remix of Sweet Caroline. Can you believe we didn’t even make it to midday without hearing that tune? Both sets of fans sound confident they’ll win.
Chelsea have arrived at Wembley!
I want to hear from you! Feel free to email me with any score predictions, feelings, thoughts and all that jazz. Are you off to Wembley today? If so, who will you be supporting? Also, I’m keen to know your thoughts on the new WSL and WSL2 rebranding as that seems to have caused quite a stir this week…
Suzanne Wrack
After 10 years of Wembley Women’s FA Cup finals we have a sell-out crowd, and the approximately 90,000 fans are in for a treat. Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea are the favourites, unbeaten domestically and bidding for a domestic treble after securing the League Cup and WSL title. However, despite 13 wins in their last 15 games against Manchester United, their dominance is far from certain. This is a different United to the team that suffered a 1-0 loss to the Blues at Wembley two years ago. Marc Skinner’s side are more streetwise and, having knocked out Chelsea on the way to a final and first FA Cup title last season, they understand the occasion and what winning looks and feels like. What to expect? United have the ability to shock Chelsea, but even when not at their best performance-wise this season the Blues have had a plan B or plan C and turned out result after result.
Preamble
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to coverage of the Women’s FA Cup final! Chelsea face Manchester United in front of a capacity Wembley Stadium crowd in what promises to be a fantastic end to the domestic season.
The Blues go into this match with their sights firmly set on achieving a treble having already won the WSL and the League Cup. Meanwhile, United are looking to retain the FA Cup trophy having won it last season with a dominant 4-0 victory over Tottenham.
These two sides last met at Wembley two years ago, when Chelsea clinched a 1-0 win thanks to Sam Kerr, who will not be available this time around. However, Marc Skinner and his team have more experience behind them now and will feel they can go toe-to-toe with the WSL invincibles.
Kick-off is at 1:30pm BST – you won’t want to miss it!
