Chelsea v Manchester United: Women’s FA Cup final - live

2m ago 08.52 EDT 19 min: A huge chance for United now! Terland is sent on a run down the right before crossing the ball into the box. Charles stretches out in an attempt to deflect the ball away, but instead sends it straight to the feet on Janssen, who blasts her shot over the crossbar! Marc Skinner is in disbelief over on the bench! Share

5m ago 08.49 EDT 16 min: Huge chance for Chelsea! Beever-Jones skips past Turner with ease before making her way into the box. She goes for the shot, but her effort takes a deflection off a sliding Turner and Tullis-Joyce is forced into a great save. Share

6m ago 08.47 EDT 15 min: Ramírez manages to pass the ball through the legs of George to Beever-Jones on the right, who looks to cross. The ball flies into a dangerous area but Le Tissier is there to head it clear. Share

9m ago 08.45 EDT 12 min: George makes a fantastic tackle on Bronze to stop a Chelsea breakaway on the right. The Blues have really struggled to get past the United defence so far. Share

12m ago 08.41 EDT 10 min: Chelsea start to press forward and Ramírez looks to make a cross, but her attempted pass flies behind for a goal kick. Share

14m ago 08.40 EDT 9 min: This has been a brilliant start from Manchester United. Marc Skinner’s side are really piling on the pressure in these early stages. Meanwhile, Chelsea haven’t had a look-in just yet. Share

15m ago 08.38 EDT 7 min: Manchester United have another corner, but this time Clinton’s cross flies over everyone in the box and runs out for a throw-in on the opposite side of the pitch. Share

16m ago 08.37 EDT 6 min: Clinton steps up to take the corner and puts the ball into a dangerous area, forcing Hampton into a tricky save. Share

17m ago 08.36 EDT 5 min: United get the first shot away as Clinton goes for goal from the edge of the box. Her effort takes a deflection before going behind for a corner. Share

19m ago 08.35 EDT 3 min: Mannion plays a clever pass through to Terland, who taps the ball short to Bizet. The winger then looks to make the cross, but her effort is cut out by Girma. Share

21m ago 08.33 EDT 1 min: Bizet wins the ball from Cuthbert in midfield and United look to move forward. A pass is played out to George on the left, who attempts to float a cross into the box, but the ball runs behind for a goal kick. Share

23m ago 08.31 EDT KICK-OFF Here we go! We’re under way at Wembley! Share

27m ago 08.26 EDT Tom Garry Olly Murs is now performing on a stage in the centre circle, as flamethrowers shoot into the air around him. Apparently he just wants us to dance with him tonight. Share

29m ago 08.25 EDT The teams are out! The atmosphere at Wembley Stadium is absolutely electric! Kick-off is just a few minutes away! Share

30m ago 08.24 EDT Some of you may be wondering if VAR will be in use this afternoon. And the answer to that would be… yes. For just the third time in the competition’s history, VAR will be used in the Women’s FA Cup final. Share

32m ago 08.22 EDT Mitre Golden Ball award Preston North End forward Madison Hadley is set to win the Mitre Golden Ball award this afternoon. The award is handed to the player with the most goals scored in an FA Cup campaign. Hadley managed 11 goals in the competition this term. The top scorers from the two remaining teams are; Celin Bizet (4), Ella Toone (3) and Aggie Beever-Jones (2). Hadley will carry the match ball out onto the pitch ahead of the match after receiving her award from Hope Powell. Share

34m ago 08.20 EDT Ahead of today’s match, Manchester United manager Marc Skinner 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 resources, 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.” Marc Skinner has arrived looking for more #AdobeWomensFACup glory with @ManUtdWomen 🏆 pic.twitter.com/G0atngiehR — Adobe Women's FA Cup (@AdobeWFACup) May 18, 2025 Share

37m ago 08.16 EDT Sonia Bompastor is aiming to become the first non-British manager to win the Women’s FA Cup since Pedro Martínez Losa in 2016. Martínez Losa won the trophy with Arsenal against Chelsea nine years ago. Danielle Carter scored the decisive goal in that game with a fantastic curled effort into the top-right corner to see the Gunners claim their 14th title. Share

42m ago 08.12 EDT Ahead of today’s match, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said: “We started the season with a lot of ambition. From the beginning, we said we wanted to win four trophies, and that’s always been the aim. Going into this last game, and last week of training sessions, we’ve kept the same high standards. We want to work hard on the pitch to succeed until the end. “It will mean a lot for me to coach at Wembley. It’s such a historic stadium and part of English history. I didn’t have a great result there in my playing career, but I hope it will be different on Sunday. I’ve watched the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium before when it’s been full, and it’s just incredible to see all the atmosphere around the final. We must anticipate this as a big, big thing on Sunday.” View image in fullscreen Sonia Bompastor prior to the match at Wembley. Photograph: John Walton/PA Share

46m ago 08.08 EDT Tom Garry The Manchester United defender Gabby George will today banish the memories of missing two FA Cup finals because of two separate anterior cruciate ligament injuries, as she fulfils a childhood dream of playing for Manchester United at Wembley. The lifelong United fan did play an FA Cup final for Everton in 2014 at Stadium:MK as a teenager but then missed Everton’s 2020 FA Cup final appearance because of an ACL and then again had to watch on from the stands due to another injury last season, when Marc Skinner’s side won the cup. “The second time was tougher because we actually won it,” George recalls. “The club made me feel part of the day but you can never change the feeling of wanting to help the team. I was still buzzing because I was there when we won our first major trophy - as a Manchester United fan growing up, that’s what dreams are made of - but I had moments like when they walked up the stairs where I was just watching it and it was tough. It’s bittersweet isn’t it, but we’ve got another opportunity to do it. It’s third-time lucky for me.” After a year out, George returned to this side and cemented her place at the start of this season and adds: “My aim when I returned was to enjoy football and that’s what I’ve done this season. The squad has made that so much easier. They’re good people. We all stick together through tough times and good times.

“The 10-year-old Gabby would be absolutely screaming, over the moon. I’m a Man Utd fan living my dream every single day. I’m lucky that I get to do that. It’s surreal to be here and achieve things that 10-year-old Gabby would have wanted.” View image in fullscreen Manchester United full-back Gabby George. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA Share

1h ago 07.58 EDT Chelsea’s road to the final: R4: Chelsea 4-0 Charlton

R5: Chelsea 4-1 Everton

QF: Chelsea 1-0 Crystal Palace

SF: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool Share

1h ago 07.51 EDT Manchester United’s road to the final: R4: Manchester United 7-0 West Brom

R5: Wolves 0-6 Manchester United

QF: Manchester United 3-1 Sunderland

SF: Manchester City 0-2 Manchester United Share

1h ago 07.43 EDT In what may come as quite a shock to some fans, Ella Toone starts on the bench for Manchester United. The midfielder scored a stunning goal for United in last year’s final against Tottenham, but she misses out on a place in Marc Skinner’s starting XI this time around. Likely a tactical decision from the manager. Share

1h ago 07.34 EDT Team news Chelsea starting line-up: Hannah Hampton; Lucy Bronze, Millie Bright (C), Nathalie Björn, Naomi Girma, Niamh Charles; Keira Walsh, Erin Cuthbert; Aggie Beever-Jones, Mayra Ramírez, Sandy Baltimore. Substitutes: Becky Spencer, Sjoeke Nüsken, Catarina Macario, Guro Reiten, Ashley Lawrence, Wieke Kaptein, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, Maika Hamano, Oriane Jean-François. Your Chelsea XI for the final. 👊#CFCW pic.twitter.com/fr2ObLboqF — (C)helsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) May 18, 2025 Manchester United starting line-up: Phallon Tullis-Joyce; Gabby George, Maya Le Tissier (C), Millie Turner, Aoife Mannion; Dominique Janssen, Hinata Miyazawa, Grace Clinton; Leah Galton, Elisabeth Terland, Celin Bizet. Substitutes: Safia Middleton-Patel, Kayla Rendell, Anna Sandberg, Simi Awujo, Lisa Naalsund, Ella Toone, Mared Griffiths, Melvine Malard, Rachel Williams. Your #WomensFACup final Reds ❤️‍🔥

Let's retain that trophy 😤#MUWomen — Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) May 18, 2025 Share Updated at 07.38 EDT

1h ago 07.24 EDT Now it’s time for Manchester United to check out the pitch… View image in fullscreen Manchester United players before the match at Wembley. Photograph: John Walton/PA Share

2h ago 07.18 EDT Tom Garry ABBA songs are blasting into the skies from the fan zone, families are enjoying picnics under these cloudy skies and the atmosphere is all very calm. Not a hint of crowd trouble, as you’d expect. Off to the right of Olympic Way, a gathering of United fans are dancing to a club remix of Sweet Caroline. Can you believe we didn’t even make it to midday without hearing that tune? Both sets of fans sound confident they’ll win. Share

2h ago 07.10 EDT I want to hear from you! Feel free to email me with any score predictions, feelings, thoughts and all that jazz. Are you off to Wembley today? If so, who will you be supporting? Also, I’m keen to know your thoughts on the new WSL and WSL2 rebranding as that seems to have caused quite a stir this week… Share

2h ago 07.04 EDT Suzanne Wrack After 10 years of Wembley Women’s FA Cup finals we have a sell-out crowd, and the approximately 90,000 fans are in for a treat. Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea are the favourites, unbeaten domestically and bidding for a domestic treble after securing the League Cup and WSL title. However, despite 13 wins in their last 15 games against Manchester United, their dominance is far from certain. This is a different United to the team that suffered a 1-0 loss to the Blues at Wembley two years ago. Marc Skinner’s side are more streetwise and, having knocked out Chelsea on the way to a final and first FA Cup title last season, they understand the occasion and what winning looks and feels like. What to expect? United have the ability to shock Chelsea, but even when not at their best performance-wise this season the Blues have had a plan B or plan C and turned out result after result. Share Updated at 07.04 EDT

Click here to read article