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Garcia of Manchester United scores her team’s first goal.","caption":"Lucia Garcia of Manchester United scores her team’s first goal.","credit":"Photograph: Alex Livesey/The FA/Getty Images"}}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1713101704000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"14.35 BST","blockLastUpdated":1713102430000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"14.47 BST","blockFirstPublished":1713101775000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"14.36 BST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"14.36","title":"GOAL! Manchester 1-0 Chelsea (Garcia, 1′)","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Sun 14 Apr 2024 14.49 BST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Sun 14 Apr 2024 13.35 BST"},{"id":"661bdab58f08f961ba5a8fdd","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Here we go. Can United beat Chelsea for the first time? Or will defending champions Chelsea charge into the final? All to come.
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Hello and welcome to the Women’s FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester United. The game is a replay of last year’s final where Chelsea lifted the trophy for the third time in a row.
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2023 was the first time United had reached the final and they will be hoping to replicate the result this year. However, they come up against a team they have never beaten before. Will they be able to conquer Chelsea finally? Emma Hayes’ team will do their best to maintain their 100% record against them, especially after losing the Conti Cup final two weeks ago.
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Hayes is in her last season in charge of the club and so far she has not silverware from the campaign. Her first opportunity was the Conti Cup but Arsenal defeated them 1-0. A win today would see the Blues take a step forward toward another trophy.
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But who is playing for both sides? The team news will be available soon so stay tuned before kick-off at 2.35pm BST.
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Key events
15 min: Chelsea are playing with a lot of possession here but United do not seem to mind and why would they? They are 1-0 up and defending really well against a rattled Chelsea.
13 min: Leupolz gets a chance at goal but it is easily collected from Earps, it feels Chelsea are forcing things are bit here and they need to settle. There is a lot of chat on the commentary about Chelsea’s treble on the line and Siobhan Chamberlain has said Emma Hayes would happily give the cups and league away from the Champions League. I am unsure if that is true but also Chelsea aren’t throwing titles away in order to win the Champions League.
11 min: Here comes United again but this time Chelsea defend them well. The early goal gave this game a frantic energy but it seems to have tempered now with both sides pulling punches.
9 min: Chelsea have had the upper hand in terms of possession since conceding but they are yet to find the form they are used to. United are rattling the defending champions.
7 min: Tottenham have reached the Women’s FA Cup final for the first time after beating Leicester 2-1 after extra time. A huge result for the team and it means they are the opposition for the winner of this semi. Chelsea are coming forward now, Reiten lays it off to James but her effort is over the bar.
6 min: Reiten takes the corner and the delivery is good but Galton is able to clear the danger initially, Mannion then clears long.
5 min: James shows her frustration with a bit of a push and shove with Zelem. Both players get a talking to from the referee. The visitors get some time up the other end and Ramirez wins a corner.
4 min: This is a scenario Chelsea won’t be used to, they are the ones chasing a result here now. There is a long old way to go in this semi-final but my word United couldn’t have asked for a better start.
2 min: There was a defensive blunder from Chelsea, a pass back went straight to the feet of Galton and she made a blinding run. Her cross is incredible and Garcia just needed a head home. What a start from the hosts.
GOAL! Manchester 1-0 Chelsea (Garcia, 1′)
WOW!
Kick-off! Manchester United 0-0 Chelsea
Here we go. Can United beat Chelsea for the first time? Or will defending champions Chelsea charge into the final? All to come.
Spurs have just scored late into extra time in the other semi-final! Just minutes left over in that one against Leicester, I’ll keep you up to date when I can.
The players are out now! Kick-off is imminent.
Emma Hayes has avoided questions about her Jonas Eidevall comments after the Conti Cup final to the BBC pre-match, she has put the focus back on the game today.
If you have read one of my blogs before you know I love a bit of snack chat, so do get in touch and let me know what you are tucking into for this one. But I’d also like to know if you think a Jaffa cake is a cake or a biscuit. I was at a comedy evening the other day and he asked the audience for their favourite biscuit and someone shouted ‘Jaffa cake’. I think it is a cake but what do you think? Let me know via email or X (@rendellx).
Can Manchester United finally beat Chelsea? No matter the competition or circumstances in each team Marc Skinner’s side have never been able to slay the Chelsea beast. But now they have more knockout football experience and Chelsea are missing a few stars now could be the time. They will need their players like Leah Galton to take charge of the action and really bring it against the Blues. Another key will be keeping Lauren James off the ball.
Tottenham v Leicester is into extra time and Leicester have just hit the bar. This semi-final is going down to the wire, keep up with all the action:
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner spoke before the game: “Chelsea is probably the toughest challenge within football, especially in England. I think they have proven before that a setback isn’t something that necessarily bothers them. They try to obviously win the next game. We have to be at our very best. We have no doubt about that. We’ve got to be humble enough to work hard. We’ve got to sacrifice and suffer without the ball but, when we get it, we got to show an abundance of personality. If we can do that, I have no doubt we can beat any team, let alone a team that’s as good as Chelsea.”
The Chelsea press conference was the first to take place since the Conti Cup final and so Emma Hayes was asked about the comments she made about Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall. She had been criticised for saying his actions were “male aggression” with many disagreeing with her point of view. Take a look at her response when asked about them:
Last year’s final did not feature many goals with only one scored by Chelsea in the 68th minute. It came as a result of a pinpoint cross from Pernille Harder and a finish by Sam Kerr. Both of those players will not be on the pitch today. Harder moved to Bayern Munich last summer and Kerr is injured. Chelsea will have to find some cup magic from another source. Take a look at the goal and highlights from the final:
In the other semi-final, Leicester City took an early lead against Tottenham but Spurs have scored a late equaliser. Whoever wins that clash will be a first-time finalist in the competition. To keep up with the closing stages of normal time read the blog:
Not starting Nikita Parris seems like a bold call. She is the competition’s top scorer and is in fine form this season. There has not been any news on an injury to the England international but I’ll keep a pulse on the pre-match interviews in case Marc Skinner sheds some light on his selection. Geyse and Malard also benched, Skinner has definitely raised a few eyebrows.
Here are Chelsea. Millie Bright may have been back in training this week but she doesn’t make the squad for the semi. Lauren James, Guro Reiten and Mayra Ramirez lead the line.
Our semi-final XL. 👀 #CFCW pic.twitter.com/WQC32ygQ0K
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) April 14, 2024
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The team news is here. Rachel Williams is usually called upon as a super sub but she starts today with Nikita Parris on the bench.
United:
🔐 Locked in for our #WomensFACup semi-final.
Let's do this, girls 💪#MUWomen pic.twitter.com/qomGU50Of4
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) April 14, 2024
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Chelsea are yet to announce their team, I’ll let you know when they have.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Women’s FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester United. The game is a replay of last year’s final where Chelsea lifted the trophy for the third time in a row.
2023 was the first time United had reached the final and they will be hoping to replicate the result this year. However, they come up against a team they have never beaten before. Will they be able to conquer Chelsea finally? Emma Hayes’ team will do their best to maintain their 100% record against them, especially after losing the Conti Cup final two weeks ago.
Hayes is in her last season in charge of the club and so far she has not silverware from the campaign. Her first opportunity was the Conti Cup but Arsenal defeated them 1-0. A win today would see the Blues take a step forward toward another trophy.
But who is playing for both sides? The team news will be available soon so stay tuned before kick-off at 2.35pm BST.