The road to Wembley has taken opposing paths for Sonia Bompastor and Marc Skinner. For Bompastor, her debut season in England as head coach at Chelsea could not have gone any smoother on the domestic front, as the champions seek to complete an unbeaten treble. For Manchester United and Skinner, a return to the Women\u2019s FA Cup final for the holders is the latest step of a tumultuous journey for the manager in the dugout, but one that he continues to lead. <\/p>\n
There have been points where Skinner and United could have taken another turn. Last season, they reached the FA Cup final having dropped to fifth in the Women\u2019s Super League from runners-up the year before. But their 4-0 victory over Tottenham and the club\u2019s first major honour on a jubilant, sun-kissed day was a sign of progress, and Skinner signed a new contract extension. The critics, including any dissenting United fans, were silenced. <\/p>\n
A second contract extension was agreed within 12 months, this one a two-year deal with the option of a further year, confirmed by the club in early April. United have rebounded from last season\u2019s dip and will enter the Champions League qualification rounds after reclaiming their position in the WSL\u2019s top three. While Chelsea were the runaway leaders, United were solid and consistent for most of the year, with a strong defensive record.<\/p>\n
Marc Skinner tries to fire up Hinata Miyazawa during Manchester United\u2019s Super League game against Manchester City on 4 May (The FA via Getty)Another new contract for Skinner does not necessarily mean he has been backed, though. The question that will follow United \u2013 and which won\u2019t be answered in Sunday\u2019s Women\u2019s FA Cup final \u2013 is how committed the club is to closing the gap to champions Chelsea. United could rise to the occasion at Wembley, as they did against Chelsea in last season\u2019s FA Cup semi-finals, but it wouldn\u2019t necessarily demonstrate they are ready to compete with Bompastor\u2019s record-breaking side over 22 games. <\/p>\n
Winning the league, ultimately, is the target for Manchester United men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams in 2028 \u2013 under the umbrella of the club\u2019s Project 150. But are United really committed to success on the women\u2019s side? There will be a focus on whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe and senior figures in United\u2019s football department, including CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox, will be at Wembley after their notable absence from United\u2019s historic Women\u2019s FA Cup success last May. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know who will be there,\u201d Skinner said on Friday. \u201cBut I have no doubt we\u2019ll be well represented.\u201d <\/p>\n
Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was at the men\u2019s FA Cup final last season but not the women\u2019s final (Getty)Those little indicators go a long way in projecting a club\u2019s ambition. At Chelsea, more investment is coming, too, following the news that Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and husband of Serena Williams, is putting in \u00a320m for a reported 10 per cent stake. It values Chelsea\u2019s women\u2019s team at \u00a3200m, the figure it was sold for to a related company earlier this year in a move that raised eyebrows, given how convenient it appeared in helping Chelsea post a profit in their annual accounts. <\/p>\n
Inviting wider investment, though, allowed Ohanian to take a seat at the table. Both he and Williams will be at Wembley on Sunday \u2013 and that is a statement in itself. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis investment is a game-changing endorsement for the women’s game but also for young girls,\u201d Bompastor said. It\u2019s not just about winning more titles. Ohanian said his investment was about \u201cfinally matching talent with the resources, visibility, and respect they [Chelsea Women] deserve\u201d. <\/p>\n
For Bompastor, who is hoping to meet Ohanian and introduce her children to Williams after a positive result on Sunday, the club\u2019s \u201cunapologetic ambition\u201d, in the words of chief executive Aki Mandhar, is music to her ears. \u201cRespect is really important,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian will be at Wembley for the Women\u2019s FA Cup final (Getty)\u201cCredit to them, I echo what Sonia said,\u201d Skinner added. \u201cIt\u2019s great. They want to be the frontrunners in showing how you invest in the women\u2019s game. We\u2019ve got to find a way to beat that and that\u2019s my job. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want people to give up because there\u2019s money there, so I\u2019ve got to find solutions. Hopefully more people do that and when our club is at that stage I know we\u2019ll be looking to invest in the right ways and the right times. I have no doubt that will come. We have said that we are trying to do it sustainably.\u201d <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, after one of the most impressive debut seasons ever seen in English football, Bompastor has set her demands even higher next season. The 8-2 aggregate defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals has given Bompastor a reason to tell her team and the wider club that they still have a long way to go, even if they have completed an unbeaten 22-game WSL season and could win the treble at Wembley. <\/p>\n
Sonia Bompastor poses with the Barclays Women\u2019s Super League trophy following Chelsea\u2019s victory against Liverpool on 10 May (The FA via Getty)Despite the unbeaten run domestically, the second half of Chelsea\u2019s season has been more challenging and Bompastor\u2019s side have relied on a series of late goals to get over the line. They have not been ruthless enough in certain games, while they have missed Lauren James and Mayra Ramirez in attack. James will play no part in the FA Cup final due to a hamstring injury, but Ramirez\u2019s availability is a big boost. <\/p>\n
There is also a score to settle on both sides. United have only beaten Chelsea once, with last year\u2019s FA Cup semi-final denying Hayes and her side a shot at the double, but United have built up a series of painful defeats to them, including a 6-0 at Old Trafford and in the 2023 FA Cup final, where Skinner\u2019s side were the better team but lost to Sam Kerr\u2019s only goal. That season, United finished just two points behind champions Chelsea in the WSL and an edgy rivalry was developing. <\/p>\n
Sam Kerr scored the winner when Chelsea defeated Man Utd in the 2023 final (Getty)But the points gap over the last two years has been 20 and 16, and it would take a big leap from United or a dramatic fall-off from Chelsea for them to be in the title hunt again next season. The FA Cup, though, comes down to one game, and a United side with a goalkeeper as good as Phallon Tullis-Joyce, a big-game player like Ella Toone and a goalscorer like Elisabeth Terland means they have to believe that anything is possible on the day.<\/p>\n
At the same time, it would change very little. Over a season and in the future, United would still have a lot to prove. <\/p>\n
The Women\u2019s FA Cup final, Chelsea vs Manchester United, is on Sunday 18 May at 1.30pm. TV coverage starts at 12.50pm on BBC One<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The road to Wembley has taken opposing paths for Sonia Bompastor and Marc Skinner. For Bompastor, her debut season in England as head coach at Chelsea could not have gone any smoother on the domestic front, as the champions seek to complete an unbeaten treble. For Manchester United and Skinner, a return to the Women\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n