Khadija Shaw showed Manchester City what they are giving up and Chelsea what they are potentially getting in emphatic style, scoring an injury-time equaliser and then an extra time winner as City came from two goals behind to earn a place in the FA Cup final against Brighton.
“I’ve said it many times this year, this group never give up. They always have a belief,” said the City manager, Andrée Jeglertz.
Shaw has dominated headlines this week: the Women’s Super League top scorer is set to leave City and Chelsea are leading the chase to sign her. Her 91st-minute goal forced extra time before a thumping header in the 103rd minute ensured City’s double ambitions remain alive after the most fraught of encounters.
Jeglertz said of the impact of Shaw’s exit: “I wouldn’t use the word catastrophic, but I always said that she’s an amazing player for us. She’s been very good this year and scored a lot of goals and has had an impact and she shows that today again.
“Where we are in July, I don’t know. That’s not up to me. But I’m pretty sure that no matter which players that are in my squad in July, that the club would definitely give me possibilities to win the title again.”
Asked about Shaw, Bompastor said: “Yes, you will understand that tonight is about focusing on my players.”
A rejuvenated Sam Kerr looked to have stolen the show, the Australia forward scoring her eighth goal in eight games in this showdown between the WSL champions and the League Cup winners, after Erin Cuthbert, making her 300th Chelsea appearance, had given them a first-half lead.
However, Jeglertz’s team have a new grit to them and Mary Fowler reduced the deficit one minute after coming on and Shaw struck on the turn in the first minute of added time before sealing victory with her head after Yui Hasegawa beat Johanna Rytting Kaneryd to Hannah Hampton’s ball out to her right.
The prize was a great one: an FA Cup final at Wembley against Brighton on 31 May, after the Seagulls’ 3-2 defeat of Liverpool in the other semi-final.
Chelsea had won six of their previous seven matches against City in the FA Cup prior to this meeting. However, City are the current dominant force in the WSL, having ended Chelsea’s run of six back-to-back league titles, with an emphatic 5-1 defeat of the London side in February a key momentum and confidence boosting result in the title race.
It was the home team that started far brighter on Sunday, though, and for 85 minutes they bossed proceedings, Cuthbert and Kerr’s goals putting them in the driving seat. City were far from out of the game, but they were sluggish, the exertion of the title race and relief in having secured it potentially playing its part.
Chelsea can also feel hugely aggrieved at not having doubled their advantage a minute after Cuthbert’s opener, when a Kerr goal was denied with the ball adjudged to have gone out of play before Ellie Carpenter swung it in from the byline. It was close, but replays seemed to show it had not fully crossed the line.
This City side are a different beast this season, though, and with three minutes of normal time remaining they struck, Shaw delivering the winner, of course.
Chelsea will have some soul searching to do after giving up a two-goal lead with four minutes of normal time remaining.
“I’m still asking myself why,” said the Chelsea manager, Sonia Bompastor, when asked how her side had lost the game. On what they need to do over the summer to take their crown back, she said: “I’ve been reflecting all through the season and sharing that with the club. So, I think in that aspect, we are in a good place. Going into more details, I think we need a really deep reflection on and off the pitch.”
Ultimately though, this was Shaw’s and City’s day, an FA Cup final further reward for a season of dominance and determination.
