Women L/Cup: Chelsea stun Man city to set up final vs Arsenal

Lauren James’ early goal was enough to put Chelsea into the final of Women’s League Cup at the expense of Women’s Super League title rivals Manchester City

The visitors took advantage of a City error as Erin Cuthbert intercepted a misplaced pass by Laia Aleixandri before working the ball to Mayra Ramirez who set up James to fire a near-post effort past Khiara Keating.

City had started brightly, but their promise quickly fizzled out after going behind and Chelsea should really have had another when Colombian Ramirez shot wide in front of an open net.

Chelsea managed the first half well, but a revitalised City posed more problems after the break with Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp both forcing goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to react quickly to keep the London side in front.

Defeat is City’s first in 13 games in all competitions, having beaten Chelsea by the same scoreline in the league three weeks ago.

READ ALSO Chelsea reveal  £90.1m pre-tax loss in first year under new owner

Chelsea will face Arsenal, who beat Aston Villa 4-0 on Wednesday, in the League Cup final at Molineux on Sunday, 31 March.

Taking such an early advantage made all the difference on Thursday evening, allowing Chelsea to excel in game-management as they frustrated City in the final third and kept the England duo of Hemp and Chloe Kelly quiet on either wing.

Striker Ramirez was forced off through injury in the first half, being replaced by youngster Aggie Beever-Jones, and Chelsea missed the Colombian’s physicality.

City came close to levelling in the second half when Park found Hemp after driving into the box, but Hampton was quick off her line to stop the forward’s effort.

Park’s creative influence continually caused trouble for Chelsea, the visitors’ defence struggling to deal with her pace and low centre of gravity as she ran into any pockets of space, but they dug deep to see the game out.

READ ALSO Iwobi overcomes bully-effect, returns to social media

This is Chelsea boss Emma Hayes’ final season in charge before she takes over as manager of the United States, and beating City means an unprecedented quadruple remains a possibility.

They lead the WSL, have reached the League Cup final, and are in the quarter-finals of both the Champions League and FA Cup.