As hoodoos go, this one involving Chelsea is proving a particular bugbear for Manchester United.
In three cup finals now, United have come up against the London side. In all three, they have been forced to stand aside and watch as the team in blue lifted the trophy in front of them.
The pain of another stinging defeat was plain to see across United boss Marc Skinner’s face after the match.
‘It’s a mindset thing that we have when we go into finals,’ Skinner said. ‘I’m frustrated, so are the players. The play up the pitch was better than Chelsea’s. We just need to be proactive in front of goal.
‘I’m going to do deep searching tonight to make sure we can be ruthless in both boxes. Chelsea’s goals were rubbish. From our perspective, they won them the game. We have to challenge ourselves.’
Chelsea, in the midst of a topsy-turvy season that has seen them relinquish their grip on the WSL crown, needed this. They needed it to crank the gears on the final few months of the campaign. They needed a trophy here, at a sold-out Ashton Gate, against the team just a place above them in the top flight, to show the rest of the league they mean business at the business end of the season.
The League Cup may be the lowest priority on their checklist this season, but right now it feels more important than ever. Their manager Sonia Bompastor may already have called time on the title race, but her players appear determined to prove otherwise.
The League Cup may be the lowest priority on Chelsea’s check list for this season, but at this moment in time amid their topsy-turvy season, it is more important than ever
The 24-year-old now has six goals against her former side, more than against any other team
‘As we say in Sweden, the hope is the last thing that leaves the body,’ Chelsea winger Johanna Rytting Kaneryd told Daily Mail Sport in the lead-up to this match. They know what a bit of momentum can do when they need it most.
The circumstances that led to Chelsea’s opening goal were damning for United and highlighted the glaring gap between the two sides in big-game experience.
It began with a simple throw-in to the feet of Dominique Janssen. The experienced Dutch centre-back attempted to pass the ball back to her goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, but undercooked it and Lauren James was there in a flash.
James, the ink still wet on a shiny new five-year contract, darted into the box and buried the ball past Tullis-Joyce’s near post without pausing to look up.
There remains a simmering rivalry between James and the United fanbase, stemming from the England winger’s departure from the club in 2021.
Such is the selective memory of football supporters that many continue to berate James for leaving rather than thanking her for the role she played in United’s historic promotion to the top flight in 2019. She remains, to this day, their first-ever goalscorer in the WSL.
Had that memory been better preserved, they might realise their goading only serves to fire her up. The 24-year-old now has six goals against her former side — more than against any other opponent.
After the ball had rippled into the back of the net, James ran over to the army of supporters in red and cupped her ear to the crowd. It is a contest she clearly relishes – and one Chelsea have reaped the rewards from on more than one occasion.
When substitute Aggie Beever-Jones nicked the second midway through the second half, it was clear that United were down and out
Up until that moment, United had enjoyed the better chances but were left wanting in the final third. Elisabeth Terland had earlier dribbled a tame shot towards Hannah Hampton after failing to generate enough power to trouble the England goalkeeper. Ellen Wangerheim later scuffed an opportunity to nick an equaliser at the near post on the stroke of half-time.
Jess Park, so often a bright light in the heart of United’s midfield this season, spent more time chasing shadows than stamping her authority on the game.
Skinner’s side appeared to lack an individual willing to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Ella Toone, out since December with a hip injury, has so often been that player and her absence was sorely felt here.
Chelsea, meanwhile, were resolute in their defence of the trophy. Despite being severely depleted at the back, they showed little sign of vulnerability. That resolve was tested further when Nathalie Bjorn, returning after three months out, was forced off within seconds of coming on, limping away in tears in a cruel end to her afternoon.
Bompastor’s side nevertheless maintained their discipline and kept United at arm’s length. And when substitute Aggie Beever-Jones nicked Chelsea’s second minutes later, it was clear United were down and out.
Beever-Jones, perhaps harshly left out of the starting line-up in a side short of strikers, arrived with real purpose. She squeezed the ball past Tullis-Joyce at the back post to give her side a deserved second.
And so Chelsea lift the first piece of silverware available this season on the same day league leaders Man City dropped points against Aston Villa.
There will be no celebrations for the Blues this evening, Erin Cuthbert confirmed after the match, with all focus shifting to the midweek WSL fixture against Brighton.
It certainly does not sound like a team that have given up on the title race.
