Women's FA Cup final LIVE!
Chelsea sealed the Treble as they beat Manchester United in the Women's FA Cup final at Wembley. With a sixth straight WSL title and the League Cup already in the bag, Sonia Bompastor’s side also complete an unbeaten domestic season.
Aside from a crushing Champions League semi-final defeat against Barcelona, it has been a near-perfect season from the Blues, who continue to dominate English women's football and finished with a new WSL record of 60 points this season.
Stopping Chelsea was always going to be a tough task but United were bidding to defend the trophy they won for the first time last year and they have surpassed expectations this season. Marc Skinner’s side secured Champions League qualification ahead of Manchester City and were only pipped to second place by Arsenal on the final day of the WSL season. But Chelsea were too strong for them at Wembley.
Women's FA Cup final latest
- GOAL! Baltimore penalty gives Chelsea the lead
- GOAL! Macario seals victory for the Blues
- GOAL! Baltimore adds a third late on
Full-time: Chelsea 3-0 Manchester United
15:33Chelsea win the Women’s FA Cup, seal the Treble and complete an unbeaten domestic season!
THE FA CUP IS OURS AGAIN!!! 🏆#CFCW pic.twitter.com/pC4MylkeRK
— (C)helsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 18, 2025
GOAL! Chelsea 3-0 Manchester United | Baltimore 90+1’
15:23Baltimore turns Naalsund brilliant before firing home from close range. What a finish and what a game she’s had!
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Manchester United | Macario 85’
15:16 , Giuseppe MuroThat seals it! Macario risest highest to head Baltimore's free-kick past Tullis-Joyce. Surely that’s game over.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:16 , Giuseppe Muro83 mins: Chelsea are managing the game well and the game is being played in the United half at the moment. The Blues look more likely to add to their advantage.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:13 , Giuseppe Muro81 mins: A final throw of the dice from United, who bring on Williams and Naalsund and Bizet and Miyazawa.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:11 , Giuseppe Muro80 mins: Time is running out for United. Chelsea are winding down the clock.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:08 , Giuseppe Muro73 mins: That was Beever-Jones’s final involvement. She is replaced by Kaptein. For United, Sandberg is on for George. Now under 15 minutes left for United to find an equaliser.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:07 , Giuseppe Muro73 mins: Chelsea come forward and George times a tackle well to deny Beever-Jones getting on the end of a through ball. Then Chelsea come again as Beever-Jones fires over when she should have done better.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:04 , Giuseppe Muro71 mins: United fans shout for a penalty as Hampton comes rushing off her line and Terland goes over. But the Chelsea goalkeeper gets the ball. VAR has a look but that was a clear challenge. Into the final 20 minutes now.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:02 , Giuseppe Muro70 mins: A bit of concern for Cheslea as Bronze goes down as she tries to get on the end a cross. She’s holding the back of her knee but it looks like she will be OK to continue.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
15:01 , Giuseppe Muro69 mins: And a change for United as Malard comes on Mannion.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:58 , Giuseppe Muro65 mins: Almost an own goal from George but the ball fall inches wide of the post. George is smiling but that was close as he miscues a cross.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:57 , Giuseppe Muro62 mins: A long break in play as Galton needs treatment.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:54 , Giuseppe Muro60 mins: Substitution for Chelsea. Ramirez is replaced by Macario.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:48 , Giuseppe Muro55 mins: Cuthbert is the first player booked as she goes in the book for a foul on Clinton.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:45 , Giuseppe Muro52 mins: Chance for Toone! United have made a really positive start to the second half. They work the ball well down the right, a cross finds Toone and her effort forces Hampton into another save.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:43 , Giuseppe Muro51 mins: Chelsea win a free-kick in a crossing position, which is whipped into the back post and Charles rises highest but can’t direct her header goalwards.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:40 , Giuseppe Muro47 mins: Positive start to the second half for United as Terland’s header forces Hampton into a save.
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:39 , Giuseppe Muro46 mins: Back underway at Wembley.
Toone is on for Turner for the second half
How long before we see Toone for United? Toone has got her substitutes bib off, her shin pads on and is warming up.
Here’s the goal that separates the two teams at half-time...
Sandy Baltimore puts Chelsea ahead in the Women's FA Cup final!#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/NPSWvJBOeu
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 18, 2025
Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United
14:25Chelsea lead at the break at Wembley thanks to that Sandy Baltimore penalty.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United | Baltimore 45’
14:16 , Giuseppe MuroBaltimore sends Tullis-Joyce the wrong way and Chelsea lead! Nerves of steel from the Chelsea forward.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
14:15 , Giuseppe Muro42 mins: Penalty to Chelsea! Bizet brings down Cuthbert. That looks pretty clear-cut. Clumsy defending.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
14:08 , Giuseppe Muro35 mins: Chelsea enjoy a good spell of possession, Beever-Jones fashions a shot from outside the area but it’s comfortable for Tullis-Joyce.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
14:04 , Giuseppe Muro30 mins: Bizet needs some treatment and both managers take an opportunity for a team talk. That looked like a planned break in play from United.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:59 , Giuseppe Muro27 mins: Baltimore drags a shot wide. Chelsea are starting to get on top now.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:55 , Giuseppe Muro21 mins: Another big chance for Chelsea! End-to-end stuff now and this time Ramire’s shot takes a deflection and it looks like Bronze is going to poke him from close range but Tullis-Joyce gets down quickly and somehow makes the save. Brilliant form the United goalkeeper.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:52 , Giuseppe Muro19 mins: Chance for United! Turner cuts the ball back for Janssen who fires over from the edge of the area.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:50 , Giuseppe Muro16 mins: Chance for Chelsea! The first big moment of the match. Beaver-Jones does brilliantly to spin a United defender, burst into the area and her deflected shot forces Tullis-Joyce into the first save.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:46 , Giuseppe Muro15 mins: Still no clear-cut chances for either side. Chelsea are starting to see a bit more of the ball after that fast start from United. It’s pretty cagey.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:43 , Giuseppe Muro11 mins: Clinton has been brilliant for United so far. She’s been everywhere.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:40 , Giuseppe Muro8 mins: Sonia Bompastor will not be too concerned yet but Chelsea haven’t really got going yet.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:37 , Giuseppe Muro6 mins: The free-kick is cleared behind for another corner, which is overhit and comes to nothing. Can United make this early pressure count?
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:36 , Giuseppe Muro5 mins: Hampton punches the corner away but United recycle and Chelsea give away a free-kick in a crossing position on the left.
Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United
13:35 , Giuseppe Muro4 mins: It’s been a decent start from United, who have started on the front-foot. Clinton’s shot is blocked behind for the first corner.
Kick-off!
13:31 , Giuseppe Muro1 mins: We’re wnderway in the Women’s FA Cup final!
The national anthem rings out around the stadium before kick-off, as is traditional with the FA Cup final.
Here come the two teams!
Bompastor: Chelsea ‘really excited’ to create history
13:23 , Giuseppe MuroSonia Bompastor says Chelsea are “in a good place” as they bid to complete a Treble.
“We are in a really good place, just the fact that we won the league being unbeaten,’ said Bompastor.
“We won a title, but it’s maybe more than a title, because the way we were able to do it was special.
“I think this will stay in history for a long time. So that’s really positive and brings us confidence going into the last game of the season.
“I’m really excited to have one more game with this ambition and the fact in this one last game we can win another trophy. Just to end the season with an FA Cup final at Wembley against Man United is maybe the perfect way to end the season.
“But you only get the trophy if you win, so we need to make sure going into the game we have the best preparation and we perform on the day.”
Manchester United lifted the FA Cup last season and are looking to become just the second team to win their maiden trophy in the competition and successfully defend it.
Fulham were the first to achieve that in 2001 and 2002.
United are the first team from outside London to reach the final of the competition in three consecutive seasons since Liverpool between 1994 and 1996.
Chelsea are contesting their eighth Women’s FA Cup final, having won five of their previous seven (in 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023).
Only Arsenal (14 times), Southampton (eight) and Doncaster Rovers Belles (six) have won the competition more often.
Man Utd boss Skinner explains Toone decision
13:06 , Giuseppe MuroMarc Skinner has been speaking to the BBC ahead of kick-off at Wembley and has explained his decision to drop Ella Toone on the bench.
“We to have a gameplan for both aspects for the game,” he said.
“I thought this would be the best way to start the game and then to inject Tooney’s quality into the game will be something that will be needed.”
Here’s what both teams are playing for today…
Who will be walking away with the #AdobeWomensFACup trophy today? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DRvTrbYxjC
— Adobe Women's FA Cup (@AdobeWFACup) May 18, 2025
We could see a record crowd at Wembley today.
The game is a sell-out and there is hope this afternoon could break the record domestic crowd at Wembley.
The current record is 77,390 from when the last time these two teams met here in 2023.
Organisers hope we could get close to the 90,000-capacity.
Second time lucky for Clinton
12:54 , Giuseppe MuroThis afternoon’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 Manchester 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.
Mark Skinner has sprung a surprise with his Manchester United team, with Ella Toone on the bench.
Toone won the club's Player of the Season award on Saturday.
So Chelsea have switched to a back three, with Millie Bright starting alongside Nathalie Bjorn and Naomi Girma for the first time.
Marya Ramirez starts in a front three with Aggie Beever-Jones and Sandy Baltimore.
Team news: Ramirez starts for Chelsea and Toone on Man Utd bench
12:37 , Giuseppe MuroChelsea XI: Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Bjorn, Girma, Charles, Walsh, Cuthbert, Beever-Jones, Baltimore, Ramirez
Subs: Spencer, Nusken, Macario, Reiten, Lawrence, Kaptein, Kaneryd, Hamano, Jean-Francois
Manchester United XI: Tullis-Joyce, George, Le Tissier, Mannion, Clinton, Galton, Bizet, Janssen, Terland, Miyazawa, Turner
Subs: Middleton-Patel, Redell, Sandberg, Awujo, Naalsund, Toone, Griffiths, Malard, Williams
Team news on the way from Wembley…
Sonia Bompastor could become the third manager in the WSL era to win a domestic treble, after Laura Harvey (with Arsenal in 2011 - WSL, FA Cup, WSL Cup) and Emm Hayes (Chelsea in 2020-21 - WSL, FA Cup, League Cup).
Bompastor could also end a long wait for a non-British manager to win the FA Cup, with Spaniard Pedro Martínez Losa doing so most recently with Arsenal in 2016.
This afternoon’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, Sonia 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."
Chelsea vs Manchester United odds
12:03 , Giuseppe MuroChelsea to lift the trophy: 2/9
Manchester United to lift the trophy: 10/3
Odds via Betfair and subject to change
Skinner challenges Man Utd players to ‘go through hell’
11:55 , Giuseppe MuroMarc Skinner has challenged his Manchester United players to "go through hell" in their quest to retain the Women's FA Cup at the expense of Chelsea's invincibles this afternoon.
United know they will have to upset the odds to get the better of a team who went through the WSL campaign unbeaten.
However, they did just that at the semi-final stage last season and Skinner wants more of the same when it matters most.
He said: "Results-wise, Chelsea are the best team and the hardest team to come up against. If you know anything about us, we are rebels and we don't like just accepting this is the case.
"I am a rebel, my nature is rebellious so for me, it is about not accepting that just because they have the best resource, they have to be the best team on every occasion.
"When you set yourself up for that challenge and you know you will have to go through hell to get the victory, if you prepare for that, then I believe you can do something special.
"That is something we want to do and something I want this team to do. Of course I believe in our quality to deliver that."
Bright: ‘A lot of pride’ if Chelsea seal Treble
11:47 , Giuseppe MuroChelsea captain Millie Bright says there will be "a lot of pride" if they cap their remarkable season by lifting the FA Cup to complete a domestic treble.
The Blues headed into 2024-25 starting a new era, with boss Emma Hayes, after a hugely successful 12-year tenure, having left to take charge of the United States and been succeeded by Sonia Bompastor.
The Frenchwoman has subsequently overseen an unbeaten WSL campaign as a sixth successive title was claimed, plus winning the League Cup.
Bright, part of the Chelsea side that won that treble in 2021, said: "There would be a lot of pride if we did it. Especially after all the changes we've had this season.
"Behind the scenes, we've had a lot of hard moments. I don't think everyone gets to see those, so it would be absolutely incredible to win it.
"I always feel lucky and proud to win one trophy, let alone potentially doing the treble again. It really would be the icing on the cake for the season that we've had."
Head to head history and results
11:37Chelsea wins: 13
Manchester United wins: 1
Draws: 1
Prediction
11:29 , Giuseppe MuroChelsea are yet to lose a domestic fixture this season, and the odds of them losing a first in the FA Cup final are fairly slim.
Sonia Bompastor is not the type to let her side let off the gas - she will be as keen as anyone to take a third trophy back to Kingsmeadow.
There are encouraging factors for United, though.
Despite preserving their unbeaten run, Chelsea have not been at their sparkling best of late, struggling to a string of narrow wins by late goals.
United were arguably the better side when Lucy Bronze headed Chelsea to a 1-0 victory in the WSL in April.
There is every chance they could rain on the Blues’ parade, but it is far from likely.
Chelsea to win, 1-0
Manchester United team news
11:21 , Giuseppe MuroManchester United defender Jayde Riviere has been ruled out with an ankle injury she sustained in the WSL win over Manchester City.
Rachel Williams could return after her recent lay-off, while Aoife Mannion is available again after suspension.
"Hopefully, we will welcome Rachel back this week as well," said United manager Mark Skinner. "Which would be great. Aoife comes back in as well.
“It’s likely Jayde Riviere will miss out for this one, you know, and we're gutted for her. "She's been an incredible part of our season. So she took a knock in the game before last. So, for us, everybody else is fit and ready and up for selection."
Chelsea team news
11:13 , Giuseppe MuroSonia Bompastor has confirmed Chelsea forward Mayra Ramirez is available after her recent injury lay-off.
The Colombian missed the final two matches of the WSL season but is fit again.
Lauren James and Sam Kerr remain sidelined.
“Almost all the squad is available,' said Bompastor. “LJ (Lauren James) won't be available for this game, but we have Mayra back fit again.
'Sam Kerr won't be available for the game, so we won't see her this season.”
How to watch
11:07 , Giuseppe MuroTV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on BBC One, with coverage starting at 12:50pm ahead of a 1:30pm kick-off.
Live stream: You can also catch the contest live online via BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer.
Good morning!
11:04 , Giuseppe MuroHello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of the Women’s FA Cup final!
Chelsea face Manchester United looking to complete a domestic Treble.
Having already secured the WSL title and the League Cup, can the Blues add another trophy and finish the domestic season unbeaten?
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news right here, ahead of kick-off which comes at 1:30pm BST from Wembley.
