United at Wembley completes remarkable turnaround

Think Manchester United and you think of a footballing powerhouse laden with trophies. But that could not be further from the truth for the women’s team – who play their first FA Cup final on Sunday, at a sold-out Wembley.

For a start, as recently as 2018 there was no United women’s team. Now they get to play in front of a full house at the national stadium.

The Glazers disbanded the senior team shortly after arriving in Manchester in 2005. So for 13 years the club had an academy, which produced the likes of England international Izzy Christiansen, but no actual team.

It returned for the 2018-19 season in the new Women’s Championship, won it and then recorded three consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Women’s Super League.

This term, with Lionesses attackers Ella Toone (who came through the academy), Alessia Russo and Nikita Parris, plus England keeper Mary Earps among the household names, Marc Skinner’s team are challenging all-conquering Chelsea for the title.

If it is new territory for United, it is anything but for Chelsea, who have swept all before them in recent years domestically under the guidance of the indomitable Emma Hayes.

They have four WSL titles in five years, are chasing a third straight FA Cup win (and fifth in a decade) which, to highlight their dominance, could be part of a third successive Double.

But to highlight how far United have come, they could also double up. As well as being cup finalists, they lead the Blues by a point in the WSL, albeit having played a game more.

Chelsea have won both league encounters this season and if United are to deny them at Wembley, they will have to keep Australia superstar Sam Kerr quiet – she netted the only goal when they met in March and opened the scoring in the Blues’ 3-1 win at Leigh Sports Village back in November.

And if Kerr is kept under wraps, United have plenty more to fear from the fit-again Pernille Harder, Lauren James and countless others.

But United have proved they are now one of the big hitters in women’s football and in Toone – who scored in the European Championship final against Germany last year and this season’s Finalissima versus Brazil – they have a player who knows how to win matches at Wembley. The ingredients are in place for a tasty encounter and Sunday’s bumper crowd is in for a cracker.

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