Chelsea’s quadruple bid in women’s soccer is up and running.
A 2-1 win over Manchester City in the Women’s League Cup final on Saturday earned Chelsea its first piece of silverware this season.
Chelsea — still unbeaten in all competitions — leads the Women’s Super League by eight points with six games remaining in its title defense, is in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, and has reached the FA Cup semifinals.
Yui Hasegawa’s unfortunate own-goal in the 77th minute clinched the win for Chelsea, which took the lead after eight minutes through Mayra Ramirez. It was also the Colombia striker who delivered the right-wing cross that Hasegawa sliced into her own net.
Hasegawa, the Japan midfielder, was in tears after the match and was consoled by her teammates.
Aoba Fujino equalized for City with a brilliant strike from the edge of the area in the 64th.
Chelsea had lost the previous three League Cup finals.
“It’s been doing my head in for a long time,” said Chelsea captain Millie Bright, who played a key role in resisting many City attacks in the second half.
“We have a mentality to never give in," Bright added. "It’s something Chelsea has in its DNA.”
It was the first of four games between Chelsea and City in a 12-day span. They also meet in the two-legged Champions League quarterfinals — the first leg is on Wednesday — with a Women’s Super League match in between.
“My players know exactly the rules. I told them that it’s important to celebrate for sure, but we have a game against City on Wednesday and we’ll need to be ready because again we expect a tough game," said Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor, who collected her first trophy since joining the club in last year's offseason.
“They can just go out until 9 o'clock,” she said about her players' celebrations. "9:30, in bed.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
