Yui Hasegawa turned the ball into her own net to help Sonia Bompastor claim her first trophy in charge of Chelsea with a 2-1 Women’s League Cup final win over Manchester City at Pride Park.
With a quadruple firmly on the agenda for Bompastor, it was Chelsea who drew first blood when Mayra Ramirez bundled in the ball following a sweeping counter-attack (8). However, despite Ramirez spurning a chance to net a second after rounding Ayaka Yamashita, it was City, led by interim boss Nick Cushing, who dominated the early exchanges.
It appeared as though Chelsea’s League Cup final hoodoo would reign supreme as City found a deserved equaliser through Aoba Fujino’s rifled effort after the break (64) – Chelsea had previously lost three successive League Cup finals since they last won it in 2021.
But for all City’s efforts under Cushing, just five days after taking over from the dismissed Gareth Taylor, a late transition from Chelsea saw Ramirez pull back a cross from the byline and, in an attempt to clear, Hasegawa sliced the ball past her own goalkeeper.
Victory ensures a 15th major honour for Chelsea and sees Bompastor’s side begin their run of four games against City in 12 days with a victory.
More to follow…
