Football
Reigning Women’s Super League champions, Chelsea, will come up against this season's league frontrunners, Manchester United, in the 2023 Women’s FA Cup Final on May 14 2023.
The two women’s football giants are currently first and second in the domestic league, with Manchester United on a four point lead at the very top following five consecutive wins.
Chelsea, however, have two games in hand over the Red Devils, and after missing out on the Conti Cup trophy to Arsenal earlier this season, will be keen to push their domestic double bid even further this weekend.
Should Chelsea win, it will be their third consecutive Women’s FA Cup triumph following their win in the 2020/21 final over Arsenal and in the 2021/22 final over Manchester City.
Manchester United are yet to claim a Women’s FA Cup trophy. This season already marks their best run in the competition, having only managed as far as the fourth round in prior years.
With a domestic double on the cards for both sides, the 2023 Women’s FA Cup Final is set to be an exciting showdown between two of England’s best women’s sides.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the 2023 Women’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United.
Chelsea: Route to the final
Chelsea began their Women’s FA Cup defence with a fourth round fixture against fellow WSL side, Liverpool. A Sam Kerr hat trick was enough to move forward in the competition, despite two consolation goals from Liverpool late on in the game.
The Blues then came up against London rivals Arsenal in a huge Round of 16 fixture - just days before the sides were to meet for the 2023 Conti Cup Final. With goals from both Sophie Ingle and Sam Kerr, Chelsea sailed through to the quarter finals.
WSL side Reading were Chelsea’s opposition for their quarter final fixture. Jess Carter opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and Maren Mjelde converted a penalty shortly after to put the Blues 2-0 up.
Chelsea’s third came from Guro Reiten in the second half, which meant Reading’s 70th minute goal did little to shake the four-time FA Cup champions.
The Blues came up against Aston Villa in the semi-finals, where just a single goal decided their fate. Sam Kerr fired home in the 59th minute to send Chelsea to Wembley for the third time in three years in the competition.
Manchester United: Route to the final
Manchester United’s route to Wembley began with a fourth round 2-1 win over Women’s Championship side Sunderland, where a Nikita Parris double sealed the deal for the Red Devils.
Progressing to the Round of 16, they met another Women’s Championship side - Durham - back in February. Bøe Risa opened the scoring for United just before the half-time break, which opened the floodgates for the second half. Further goals from Alessia Russo, Leah Galton, Hannah Blundell and Nikita Parris secured an impressive 5-0 win for the home side.
The quarter finals saw yet another Women’s Championship opponent for the Red Devils, and this time it was Lewes. An early goal for Alessia Russo was followed by a second half strike from Vilde Bøe Risa to put the Reds 2-1 up with 20 minutes to play.
Lewes’ Emily Kraft halved the deficit in the 73rd minute, but it was Nikita Parris who found the back of the net late on to book Manchester United a place in their first ever Women’s FA Cup semi-final.
The Red Devils faced WSL side Brighton in the Women’s FA Cup semi finals, and it was the seagulls who went 1-0 up thanks to an unfortunate Mary Earps own goal in the 26th minute.
Leah Galton’s 47th minute goal set the score back to 1-1 and Alessia Russo followed with another just over twenty minutes later.
After a Danielle Carter equaliser in the 75th minute, the game looked set for extra time before United’s Rachel Williams found the back of the net in the 89th minute to send her side to Wembley in their first ever domestic final.
Chelsea: Season so far
Following their league and FA Cup win last season, Chelsea had high hopes for this year - but their season got off to a slightly rocky start with a league loss to newly promoted Liverpool.
However manager Emma Hayes did not let the shock result phase her side, as the Blues then went 21 games unbeaten in all competitions - defeating Manchester United, PSG, Real Madrid and Manchester City in the process.
It was until March 2023, when they came up against Arsenal in the Conti Cup Final that they suffered their next loss.
Despite Sam Kerr opening the scoring very early on, Arsenal goals from Stina Blackstenius and Kim Little coupled with an own goal from Niamh Charles resulted in a 3-1 defeat for the Blues.
A few weeks later, Chelsea’s title charge suffered a dent thanks to a 2-0 loss to Manchester City, however, a 4-3 win on penalties in the Women’s Champions League quarter finals over giants Lyon lifted spirits.
The Blues narrowly missed out on a spot in the Champions League final with a 2-1 loss to Barcelona, but as they sit just four points behind WSL leaders Manchester United with two games in hand, Chelsea will be confident that they can still finish this season with some silverware.
Manchester United: Season so far
The Red Devils finished fourth in the 2021/22 season - only their third season in the Women’s Super League - and they kicked off the new 22/23 season in style with a 4-0 win over Reading.
They then went four games unbeaten in the league, until title challengers Chelsea defeated them 3-1 in November 2022.
Another unbeaten run - this time for thirteen games in all competitions - was ruined once again by reigning WSL champions Chelsea when the sides met for the reverse league fixture in March which resulted in a 1-0 win for the Blues.
Since their last defeat to Chelsea, the Red Devils are yet to be beaten in the league and find themselves at the top of the table with a four point lead.
With their only league slip ups coming against Chelsea, Manchester United have edged much closer to not only securing Champions League football for next season but also winning the league.
There is only one side that realistically looks capable of stopping Manchester United getting a hold of their first ever domestic double - and that is Emma Hayes’ Chelsea.
2023 Women's FA Cup Final: How to watch
The match kicks off on Sunday 14th May at 14:30 BST.
Tickets in all areas of the stadium have already sold out. However, the final will be broadcast live on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.
It will also be livestreamed on The FA Player for international audiences.