By Laura Howard
Chelsea emerged 2-1 winners against Manchester City in their first final of the season to lift the Subway Women's League Cup at Pride Park.
Mayra Ramirez and Aoba Fujino exchanged goals before Yui Hasegawa’s own goal handed Chelsea the silverware, their first under Sonia Bompastor.
It also marked the first time Nick Cushing took charge of City since he departed the club in 2020, following Gareth Taylor’s sacking earlier in the week leading up to the final.
Here are five things we learned from an encounter which is set to be played a further three times in the next two weeks.
Chelsea pass their latest test to remain unbeaten
As Manchester City stare at a further three fixtures against the Barclays Women’s Super League’s reigning champions, it is a prospect no club would envy at the moment.
While the saying goes that anything can happen in a final, on Saturday it never really looked like there would be any other outcome than Chelsea blue ribbons adorning the trophy come full time.
Sonia Bompastor’s side looked comfortable for the duration of the first half as they guarded a 1-0 lead from City’s underwhelming efforts in attack.
While City had spells of possession, it felt more that Chelsea were allowing such supposed dominance than City were entirely outclassing their opponents.
It took a moment of individual brilliance from Aoba Fujino to break the rhythm of a game that had looked fixed on one course until that moment.
But following a period of flux that saw City have their best chances of the game, Chelsea resumed their usual confidence and, in doing so, their lead.
There was no sense that the favourites were overawed by pressure or occasion as they went about their business without really having to find their upper gears.
It is reflective of a team who appear utterly dominant in English football at the moment and City will have their work cut out to change that in the following three meetings.
City’s lack of depth shows
When Manchester City restored parity through Aoba Fujino in the 64th minute it signalled a shift in momentum in the match which was anyone’s to seize.
Prior to the goal the game had settled into a rhythmic affair with little sparkle, but the strike injected a new energy and openness.
It was a perfect moment to bring on fresh legs, as both managers turned to their bench, but the options Bompastor saw behind her clearly looked more appealing.
It was four changes for the Blues leading into the closing 20 minutes of the match, with three of those coming in the forward line as Aggie Beever-Jones, Maika Hamano and Wieke Kaptein were all introduced.
The latter saw a shot blocked in the closing moments while it was Hamano that was poised in the box, forcing Yui Hasegawa to make an intervention that led to the own goal.
City, on the other hand, made just two changes with Kerolin and Jess Park introduced with less than 10 minutes to go, the Brazilian replacing Bunny Shaw who was struggling with her hamstring.
It saw momentum seized by Chelsea in the closing 10 minutes as the Manchester side struggled to get back into the game after falling behind for a second time.
Is Cushing the answer?
Manchester City came into the match with a new manager at the helm in the form of Nick Cushing and were by no means outplayed by a Chelsea side who are yet to be beaten.
For large spells City looked comfortable in possession and came off the better in big moments in defence as Ayaka Yamashita pulled out important saves, including denying Johanna Rytting Kaneryd one-on-one.
It was one of the big selection conundrums presented to Cushing as Khiara Keating has had spells in favour this season under Gareth Taylor, and it was one that paid off.
The only change he made, albeit seeing Aoba Fujino return from injury in place of Jess Park, also paid off as the winger produced a stunning individual run down the pitch before unleashing a stinging effort to get back on level terms.
It is a promising sign for City fans in the first few days under Cushing’s charge, but they will hope for further improvement down the line as City still struggled to create high quality chances.
Fujino shines despite defeat for City
After struggling to make an impact in the first half of the season, Fujino proved on Saturday that she has certainly found her feet in England now.
The Japanese international was a threat from the outset as she frequently looked to cut inside off the right wing.
She had arguably City’s best chance of the first-half following a well-worked short corner routine that saw her find space to the right of the box from which she could curl a searching effort across the goal towards the far post.
While that was saved, Fujino remained a persistent threat and for 13 minutes in the second half looked like she could have handed City the lifeline that proved their salvation.
A goal of her own creation, the winger exchanged passes on the halfway line before spotting space ahead for her to burst into with purpose.
Seeing no reason to stop, Fujino accelerated into the right of the box before firing a stinging shot at an angle from which she had no right to score and, helped by Hannah Hampton’s misjudgement, had City on level terms.
It is a needed reminder for City that despite their injuries concerns, they have plenty of quality amongst those available to them.
Chelsea need to improve their clinical edge against better opposition
While Nick Cushing was happy with his side’s display, Sonia Bompastor felt her side were capable of better despite their win.
It was reflective of a game in which her side squandered plenty of chances to make their win far more comfortable.
Even Mayra Ramirez’s opener came after she had placed a chance one-on-one with Ayaka Yamashita straight at the City ‘keeper, with a fortunate deflection off Laia Aleixandri meaning she was able to bundle home.
The Colombian forward was guilty of a missed opportunity later in the first-half as another opening on goal saw her shot ripple the wrong side of the net after she had attempted to round Yamashita.
Whether indicative of an excellent performance from the Japanese goalkeeper, or an indication of a Chelsea weakness, Rytting Kaneryd also squandered a chance to lead 2-0 as she could not get enough height on her attempted chip over Yamashita.
While Chelsea came away unscathed from their wastefulness today, against more clinical opposition and stronger defences in Europe, the Blues will need to ensure they take those chances.
