Women’s FA Cup final: Man Utd out to retain trophy as Chelsea chase treble

Chelsea and Manchester United will go head to head in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the key talking points ahead of the fixture.

Can United retain trophy?

United will be aiming to lift the cup for a second successive season.

A memorable occasion last year saw the Red Devils win their first major trophy with a thumping 4-0 win over first-time finalists Tottenham.

Ella Toone put United ahead before Rachel Williams extended their lead and Lucia Garcia bagged a brace to wrap up victory.

Chelsea chase triple

Women’s Super League champions Chelsea are hoping to finish another successful season on a high as they chase another piece of silverware to add to their trophy cabinet.

Sonia Bompastor won her first trophy as Blues boss in March when they lifted the Women’s League Cup with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City.

Her team then completed an historic unbeaten WSL campaign with a 1-0 win over Liverpool on Saturday and they now have the chance to complete a domestic clean sweep.

2023 rematch

This year’s showdown is a rematch of the 2023 final, in which Sam Kerr scored the only goal as the Blues won the FA Cup for the third straight season.

The match was United’s first major final since their promotion from the Championship in 2019 and the game was played out in front of a crowd of 77,390 at Wembley.

They were beaten by United in the semi-finals last year.

Second time lucky for Clinton

Sunday’s showpiece is the second time Grace Clinton has reached an FA Cup final, but the first she will be eligible to compete in one.

The United midfielder enjoyed a breakthrough season on loan at Tottenham last year but was unable to face her parent club at Wembley.

Clinton has continued to impress back in the north west, finishing the WSL campaign with eight goals.

Celin Bizet will also be aiming to make an impression in United colours, having featured for Spurs in last year’s final before swapping London for Manchester in September.

Ohanian backs Blues

Sunday’s game will be the first since Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian bought a stake in Chelsea’s women’s team.

The founder of social media platform Reddit has purchased a reported 10 per cent stake in the club, worth around £20million.

Speaking in her pre-match press conference, Bompastor said: “My reaction is really positive to that news, it’s a very exciting moment for the club, for the women’s team and for the women’s English game.

“To have this opportunity to have Alexis invest in the women’s team is something great, so really happy with this news, really excited about this.”