Goals from Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones secured the Women's League Cup for Chelsea as they defeated Manchester United 2-0 at Ashton Gate. The victory gave Sonia Bompastor her first trophy as Chelsea manager and marked the club's successful defence of the title.
Despite missing key players such as Millie Bright, Naomi Girma, Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter, Chelsea dominated the match. Stand-in centre-back Veerle Buurman impressed, with Bompastor praising her performance: 'Veerle is doing extraordinarily well. She's really performing at the highest level.'
Lauren James, named player of the match, said: 'It's so nice to get a trophy to start off the rest of the season. It's in our DNA, we just find a way to win.' Captain Erin Cuthbert added: 'We were pretty dominant over the course of the game. It's got to give us momentum and belief.'
Manchester United had chances late on, with Melvine Malard's shot cleared off the line by Lucy Bronze, but they could not find a way past Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. The defeat leaves United without a trophy this season, though they remain in contention for the Champions League.
Bompastor said: 'Hopefully we can grab more trophies. We want to give our all. Trophies never get old.' Chelsea now turn their attention to the WSL title race and a Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal.
