Chelsea reached the Women’s League Cup final for the fifth time in succession with a slender victory over Manchester City. Lauren James’ early goal was enough to see them set up a meeting with Arsenal on 31 March despite coming under significant pressure from their title rivals.
It was a dogged performance from Emma Hayes’ side that ended City’s scintillating run of 12 wins in all competitions and hopes of lifting the treble. The Chelsea manager praised her side’s “gutsy” performance as they reached yet another domestic final. “I felt like that was a Chelsea standard,” she said. “If you’re going to suffer without the ball, we had to make it difficult … I think the team as a whole deserve credit for just digging in. We weren’t at our best, but we know how to do this.”
