Manchester United Beat Chelsea for FIRST TIME EVER 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏆

It’s April 15, 2024. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.

Happy Monday, TWG readers! Sam here, after personally having what I like to call a “down” weekend… multiple couch sessions spent watching NWSL, FA Cup, and WSL action. Kind of an ideal weekend for watching football as it was rainy here in the northeast.

Here at TWG, we have some extra content for you this week. Today, we dropped an episode of Welcome to Wrexham on our podcast feed and YouTube channel - it’s an interview with Wrexham Women’s striker Rosie Hughes, who sat down with Rog in Wrexham just recently, thanks to our friends at STōK Cold Brew Coffee. Make sure you give that a listen while you wait for GVFC and Friendlies to drop later in the week. Rosie is wonderfully open and her self-confidence will probably inspire you to ask for a raise at work.

Good Vibes is back tomorrow, Tuesday, and this week we have Lynn Williams gracing us with her presence. Lynn played about 30 minutes Sunday night in Gotham’s home opener - it made me so happy to see her take the field again. I shouted out, “Lynn!” at my little iPad screen and proceeded to watch her sprint around the field, back to doing what she loves. I’m so excited to hear how it felt for her to return to club action. Friendlies this week is with Canadian and Portland Thorns midfielder, Jessie Fleming, who led her national team to a gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. I asked Jessie about what it takes to score penalties in big moments, and also about her decision to leave Chelsea and come to the NWSL in January. You don’t want to miss it!

Make sure you’re following along with us on all our socials so you don’t miss anything, and please subscribe to our podcast feed and our YouTube channel, so you’ll be notified when all these episodes drop. And as always, stay hydrated and happy with our friends at Olipop. You can use code TWG20 for 20% off your first order at drinkolipop.com/TWG20.

You can always send me an email at [email protected] if you have questions you want answered on the show.

Thanks for being here!

Love,

Sam

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I. Manchester United record first-ever win over Chelsea in FA Cup semi final 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏆

i. History was made in England this weekend as Manchester United defeated Emma Hayes’ Chelsea for the first time in any competition. The FA Cup reigning champions, Chelsea, fell behind in the first minute thanks to Lucía García’s back post header, and conceded again when Ella Toone found Rachel Williams to make it 2-0. The Blues pulled one back via Lauren James, but United’s immense defensive performance and the excellence (and expletives) of Mary Earps, who made big saves in the second half, kept victory in their hands. 

Man United have had their share of disappointments this season, but the scene at Leigh Sports Village (where United play the majority of their home games) was one of deserved elation as they celebrated the seismic milestone, and their chance to win a trophy at Wembley. 

MORE: ‘How Man United went from WSL title challengers to crisis club’

AND MORE: ‘Manchester United stun Chelsea to set up FA Cup final with Spurs’

ii. Emma Hayes, who’ll miss the chance of another trophy in her final season, regretted Chelsea’s early mistakes but commended the Red Devils’ performance: “I want to say congratulations to Man Utd, their fans, the players put up a great fight and Mary Earps produced world-class saves.”

iii. In the other semi-final, Tottenham came from behind to overcome Leicester in stoppage time thanks to Martha Thomas’ 118th minute goal, earning their first appearance in the FA Cup Final. Spurs will meet Manchester United at Wembley for the final on May 12. INCREDIBLE STAT: This is the first time since 2005 the finalists don’t feature Chelsea, Man City, or Arsenal.

II. Kansas City Current continue NWSL form as they go toe to toe with last year’s champions in NWSL Matchday 4 👑🇺🇲

i. Vlatko Andonovski’s return to club football continues its early success, as the Kansas City Current went toe to toe with last year’s champions, Gotham FC, to collect a 1-1 draw on the road in New Jersey. With four games played, they’re top of the league. Temwa Chawinga, the first Malawian player in NWSL, continues to make her mark on the league as she collected her second goal of the year to give the Current the early lead. Before a record crowd for a home opener, Gotham pulled one back from World Cup Champion Esther González. Importantly for Gotham, our very own Lynn Williams returned to the field after 35 days away with injury. (Gotham FC 1 - 1 Kansas City Current)

MORE: Incredible to watch Patrick Mahomes and Eli Manning hype up the game as co-owners and investors in NWSL

ii. Zambia’s Barbra Banda has officially landed in Orlando after clinching Olympic Qualification last week with the Copper Queens. Look at this airport welcome for the footballer who commanded the world’s second-highest women’s transfer fee when she joined Orlando this March. While the Pride await Banda’s NWSL debut, Brazilian legend Marta collected the club’s 200th goal to defeat Utah Royals on the road (Utah Royals 0 - 1 Orlando Pride). 🇿🇲🇧🇷

iii. Despite a big-name roster filled with talent, Portland cannot summon the cohesion or performance to deliver points and are rock bottom of the standings. Playing on the road against second-place North Carolina Courage, the Thorns fell 2-0 to mark their third loss in four games this season and stay bottom of the league. North Carolina’s Tyler Lussi gave the Courage the lead just five minutes in, and Haley Hopkins made it 2-0 by halftime. (North Carolina Courage 2 - 0 Portland Thorns). 

MORE: ‘Portland Thorns start NWSL season winless, in uncharted territory’

MORE: Houston Dash winger Maria Sanchez signed a record deal as a free agent this offseason, but as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf, is now requesting a move after just four months. With the league’s trade and transfer window closing Friday, time is dwindling for the Mexico international to make a move from a club that’s struggled and been full of turnover. The Dash fell 1-3 to third-place Washington Spirit this weekend, as an ascendant rookie-laden Spirit put three past Houston with yet more goals from NWSL newbies Hal Hershfelt and Croix Bethune (Fun fact: the 11 passes leading to Bethune’s goal are the most of any buildup this season in NWSL). 

III. UEFA Women’s Champions League is BACK 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇪🇸🇫🇷🏆

i. The Champions League returns to Europe this week as the semi-finals kick off in Spain and France. Early Saturday morning for North American viewers, the reigning champions Barcelona host Emma Hayes’ Chelsea in a major test for the soon-to-be USA manager. With two trophies out the window in her final year (and just two still available before her), the UWCL trophy remains the one that’s eluded Hayes throughout her decorated tenure. Barca will be a formidable test, full of world-class talents and World Cup champions. They’ll begin battle on Spanish soil. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇪🇸 (Saturday, 7:30 am ET, DAZN)

ii. Later that day, the battle for France sets off in Lyon, home of US co-captain Lindsey Horan (Golden, Co.) and the eight-time UWCL champions. In the first leg of a domestic rivalry clash, Lyon face off with PSG in the hopes of gaining an early advantage in the tie, which features USWNT talents Eva Gaetino (Chesapeake, Va.) and Korbin Albert (Grayslake, Ill.) on the other side. (Saturday, 1 PM ET, DAZN)

IV. USA WINS SEVENTH SHEBELIEVES CUP 🇺🇲🏆

Last Tuesday in the great American soccer city of Columbus, Ohio, the US overcame Canada on penalties for the second time in two months to claim their seventh SheBelieves Cup trophy. With that, the US has claimed two hard fought trophies in 2024. The next time they get together, Emma Hayes will officially be in charge. The team has evolved in many ways, including in personnel, but myriad challenges are in store for the new USA manager. That includes getting the USWNT talent pool down to an 18-player Olympic roster. 

MORE: ‘Amid Coaching switch: who’s Olympics ready?’ Jeff Kassouf takes a look at the roster.

V. News and Notes 📰🗞️

i. Players in Brazil’s top flight for women’s football protested the return of Santos’ manager, Kleiton Lima, who faced 19 harassment complaints. 🇧🇷

ii. Future US manager Emma Hayes dropped lines from Robert Frost’s poem “Choose Something like a Star” as the English media questioned the response to her altercation with Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall in last month’s Conti Cup Final. Hayes had originally described Edievall’s provocations as “male aggression” but noted in the same aforementioned press conference that on reflection, “you can’t meet aggression with aggression”. Hayes indicated lessons were learned on her end, though her recitation of Frost was received by some as “bizarre”. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

iii.  The final Olympic spots are confirmed. In last week’s second-leg of the CAF Qualifying tournament, Nigeria overcame South Africa to book a spot in Group C, and Zambia beat Morocco with goals from Barbra Banda to book a spot in Group B alongside the USWNT. 🇿🇲🇳🇬

iv. French manager Sonia Bompastor is set to be appointed Chelsea’s replacement to Emma Hayes as she departs to coach the US Women’s National Team this summer. As manager of Europe’s most decorated women’s football program since 2021, Bompastor won the prestigious Champions League trophy in 2022 (with the USA’s Lindsey Horan and Catarina Macario on side), as well as the French league (twice), ​​the Trophée des Championnes (twice), and the Coupe de France féminine (once). 🇫🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

v. In a surprise announcement that will pose questions to Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses, Rachel Daly announced her retirement from England’s National Team at 32 years old. Daly has scored 16 goals in 84 appearances for England, while taking on roles all across the pitch despite her natural role as a striker (and her success at club level on both sides of the Atlantic, when she played there). Daly started in all of England’s matches during their 2022 European Championship run, used as a left wingback. In her final sendoff with the Lionesses, Daly and England overcame Ireland 2-0 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin with Daly used as a substitute, as the Lionesses continue their 2025 Euro Qualification campaign. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

VI. Parting Shots 🥃

“Is this US team ready to win the Olympics?” Sam asks Becky the question on many of our minds this week on The Women’s Game. According to Becky, absolutely. LISTEN TO THE FULL POD HERE. 

VII. Good Reads 📚

From Sophie Downey in The Guardian, ‘Unearthed stories of ‘Lost Lionesses’ and Copa 71 expose past injustice’ 

From Louise Taylor in The Guardian, ‘Wor Bella, forgotten story of women who combined war work with football’

From Emily Tannenbaum in Glamour, ‘Caitlin Clark beat Michael Che at his own game during her hilarious Saturday Night Live debut’