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Chelsea v Manchester United BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra This video can not be played Use 'watch & listen' tab for BBC TV coverage or BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary FT: Chelsea 2 - 0 Manchester United - James scores opener, Beever-Jones with second Chelsea play in seventh consecutive final Manchester United in final for first time in history Chelsea missing Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter who are in Australia for Asian Cup Ciara Fleming Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Big sighs of relief from Phallon Tullis-Joyce there as she saw the ball fly past her but also past her far post. Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Another nervy moment in the Manchester United defence as Johanna Rytting Kaneryd looks to run onto her own knock forward and in trying to clear Maya Le Tissier cannons the ball back towards her own goal off the Chelsea winger. Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Just the 75. 8% of possession for Chelsea so far. United have to find a way to wrestle control from them, because in truth it's been very comfortable for the Blues. Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Emma Sanders BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Ashton Gate Lauren James is in blistering form at the moment and just days after signing a new long-term deal with the club, she's put them ahead in the cup final against her old club. It's one Dominique Janssen will not want to see back and it was right in front of the United fans. Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Rachel Brown-Finnis Former England goalkeeper on BBC One Lauren James has been a spark for Chelsea. She has looked really dangerous, and if you were to give anybody a gift for Chelsea it wouldn't be her. What a composed finish. Excellent goal. Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United Well, when you're up against the final-winning machine that is Chelsea the last thing you need is a mistake like that. Lauren James (19 mins) Who else? ! It's a horrible error by Manchester United centre-half Dominique Janssen, who after receiving a throw in undercooks a back pass to Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Lauren James is on the scene in a flash, dribbling into the box before tucking into the back of the net to give Chelsea the lead. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Julia Zigiotti Olme excecutes a lovely turn to get away from several blue shirts before sliding the ball into the feet of Ellen Wangerheim. The Swede goes for goal but it's a simple daisy cutter that Hannah Hampton need only fall on to stop. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Elisabeth Terland nips in front of Erin Cuthbert to collect a loose ball and begin charging towards the Chelsea box. In the end both players tussle to the point of falling to the floor with referee Grace Lowe awarding a free kick to the Blues much to the Norwegian's frustration. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United To date only Arsenal (7) , Chelsea (3) and Manchester City (4) have ever won the Women's League Cup, so it would be doubly historic if Manchester United win it this afternoon. Not only would it be their first League Cup triumph, they'd become just the fourth club to write their name on the trophy. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Rachel Brown-Finnis Former England goalkeeper on BBC One We were right behind the line of that strike and it was beautiful. Lauren James absolutely drilled that. The time and space that she's being allowed is a problem for Manchester United. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Sandy Baltimore versus Jayde Riviere is one of the interesting one v one battles we get to watch today. The French full-back wins this edition to deliver a devilish cross into the box but United captain Maya Le Tissier gets her foot to it. The clearance falls to Alyssa Thompson just outside the box, who in turn plays it to Lauren James, but James' long-range effort floats harmlessly over the top. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Emma Sanders BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Ashton Gate Elisabeth Terland has got into some good positions but hasn't been able to capitalise. The United fans haven't had too much to get excited about so far either. It's been all Chelsea really, despite them not creating much. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Veerle Buurman gets a foot in to stop Ellen Wangerheim from racing into the Chelsea box but it falls kindly for Elisabeth Terland to strike. She takes aim from the edge of the D but slices it off her standing foot and it lands well wide of the target. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United As Emma said earlier, the rain has come down in the last half hour as kick off approached, and that has added a little extra zip to the pitch here at Ashton Gate. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Rachel Brown-Finnis Former England goalkeeper on BBC One We're seeing this surface is going to cause problems. As a goalkeeper, it's whether you prefer wind or rain, but I think we have both here. The conditions could make the difference. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Lauren James was excellent for England against Iceland off the left hand side last week. She completely ran the show at the City Ground. She combined well with Alyssa Thompson there but her cross was blocked out for a corner which the United defence dealt with easily enough. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United A wonderful display of fan dedication. How many badges are on there? Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Elisabeth Terland thinks she has the run on the Chelsea back line as she scampers onto a long ball, but Kadeisha Buchanan shows great pace to get back at her and quell the danger. Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United Lucy Bronze's cross deflects into the path of stand-in skipper Erin Cuthbert but before she can lay it off for a team-mate or get a shot away she's crowded out and United lump it clear. This video can not be played James stars as Chelsea beat Man Utd in Women's League Cup final At a glance Lauren James puts Chelsea in front after 19 minutes and Aggie Beever-Jones confirms victory in the second half United miss several chances and Elisabeth Terland hits the crossbar Chelsea defender Nathalie Bjorn returns after three months but lasts only five minutes United have lost three domestic cup finals against Chelsea PLAYER RATER Chelsea defended the first of their three domestic titles with victory over Manchester United in the Women's League Cup. It was a crushing blow for United, who have now lost three finals to Chelsea, having also been beaten twice in the FA Cup showpiece. England international Lauren James capitalised on an error from defender Dominique Janssen and celebrated her no-look finish with a nonchalant cupping of her ear towards the fans of her former club United. She was a standout performer in the first half as Chelsea dominated possession but were troubled by United on occasions. Elisabeth Terland hit the crossbar and Ellen Wangerheim missed a huge chance at the near post, before Aggie Beever-Jones eventually made it 2-0 to Chelsea. Victory helps silence Chelsea's critics, who have grown louder throughout the campaign, as they have fallen behind in the Women's Super League title race. It is manager Sonia Bompastor's fourth trophy since joining the club last year, having led Chelsea to an unbeaten domestic treble last season. However, it was not the perfect afternoon in Bristol for the Blues as defender Nathalie Bjorn – making a comeback as a substitute after three months out injured – had to be replaced herself five minutes later due to another injury. She left the pitch in tears, consoled by Bompastor and United defender Gabby George, but her side responded on the pitch to complete the job. This video can not be played Can Lauren James become the best in the world? "Champions always find a way, " were the words from Manchester United manager Marc Skinner when discussing the magnitude of their challenge against Chelsea. He dismissed suggestions Chelsea were vulnerable after a difficult start to the season in which they fell nine points behind WSL leaders Manchester City. This is after all a squad that won a domestic treble last season and went unbeaten. But noise has grown throughout the campaign as results have gone against them, manager Bompastor has come under pressure and off-field changes have sparked concern among fans. It was important that Chelsea came out fighting at Ashton Gate and produced the type of performance that delivered so much success in 2025. They were immediately on the front foot, controlling 76% of the possession in the opening 20 minutes and capitalised through James. It was a typical Chelsea performance as they gave away chances but maintained a constant level of control and were clinical when their opportunity arose through Janssen's error. James oozed confidence in attack and Erin Cuthbert worked tirelessly in midfield with the captain's armband on for the first time in a cup final. "It's an amazing afternoon. It's so nice to get another trophy to kick off the rest of the season, " James told BBC Sport afterwards. "It's in our DNA - we always find a way to win, whether we play well or not. We always make sure we put up a fight and we make ourselves hard to beat. "We need to use it as momentum and hopefully we can use this game as another step forward and work hard to achieve our dreams. " Both squads were missing key players through injury and the Asia Cup but the absence of full-back Ellie Carpenter and centre-back Naomi Girma threatened to derail Chelsea. However, teenager Veerle Buurman was exquisite – cementing her status as one of Chelsea's key players this season. This was not a dominant display but, as Skinner said, champions find a way and Chelsea did again in front of 21, 619 fans at Ashton Gate – a record attendance for a Women's League Cup final. This video can not be played 'Trophies never get old' - Bompastor reacts to Chelsea's League Cup win United had an uphill challenge before they had even kicked off, knowing Chelsea had beaten them in two previous FA Cup finals and had won 10 of their 12 WSL meetings. And it was immediately clear that Chelsea wanted to gain control of proceedings and United struggled to settle, despite Terland getting into good positions and testing goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. But as the game wore on, and Chelsea took their foot off the gas slightly having taken the lead, United started to trouble them. Terland rattled the crossbar, Wangerheim missed a golden opportunity at the near post and Hampton pushed behind an effort from Lisa Naalsund. Captain Maya Le Tissier made a crucial block to stop Alyssa Thompson making it 2-0 to Chelsea in the first half and, having restricted their opponents, United will have been frustrated they could not make the most of their own chances. They have shown in recent months that they are capable of competing with the WSL's best but they still have yet to work out how to overcome their nemesis Chelsea in cup finals. "It's frustrating that against Chelsea, we don't produce the clarity that we need to score goals. My players rush more than they need to, " said Skinner afterwards. "That's the difference in these games. It's those moments in the two boxes. Their record is incredible in this competition but I don't think they outplayed us. "I want to stop having that conversation [of getting closer to them]. We need to stop being closer, and just be there. That's the challenge to my players, to not feel like this anymore. "Chelsea's goals were rubbish, from our perspective it won them the game, we have to challenge ourselves. " James was gifted an opportunity to put Chelsea ahead and Beever-Jones reacted quickest at the back post when the ball came in from the right – two moments which took the game away from United. United's only major trophy was from their FA Cup win over Tottenham in 2024, having lost to Chelsea in 2023 and 2025, as well as this year's Women's league Cup. That will be painful for them. Chelsea have little time to celebrate as they return to league action at home against Brighton on Wednesday, 18 March (19: 00 GMT). Manchester United have to bounce back quickly as they travel to London to face West Ham in the WSL on Wednesday, 18 March (19: 15 GMT). This video can not be played 'We can beat anybody' - captain Cuthbert on League Cup triumph After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Head here to get involved Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Manager: Sonia Bompastor Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Marc Skinner Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Sonia Bompastor Formation: 4 - 3 - 3 Manager: Marc Skinner Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 To watch and listen, you need to enable Java Script in your browser. Chelsea v Manchester United. BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. 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