Mixed emotions for Bompastor and City stumble: Women’s League Cup final and WSL talking points

Bompastor rues League Cup changes after triumph

Sonia Bompastor said losing the opportunity to play in the League Cup was a “bit sad,” but she understood the reason for excluding teams that qualify for the Champions League next season. With Chelsea rarely outside the European places the Blues’ 2-0 League Cup final victory over Manchester United on Sunday may well be their last foray in the competition for some time. “I think I understand the reason why the decision is made,” she said after goals from Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones secured the win. “For a club like Chelsea, we are playing a lot of games, our schedule is busy, so I understand the reason behind the decision. As much as we want to be competing in every competition and going as far as possible and grabbing as many titles and trophies as possible, I understand. Of course, when you have one competition that is probably going away from you it’s a bit sad.” Suzanne Wrack

Villa frustrate City to keep title race interesting

As the WSL resumed after the international break, Manchester City looked like a team who had not played together in a few weeks. Aston Villa held City to a first 0-0 draw in the WSL since September 2020 and their first dropped points since defeat by Arsenal in early February. City looked short of rhythm early on and were fortunate not to trail after the hosts had the better of the first half with Khiara Keating producing several key saves. Ellie Roebuck was equally assured in goal for Villa after they had conceded heavily in recent matches. However, with five matches remaining, City still have a strong grip on the trophy as they are nine points ahead of United, who have a game in hand. The City manager, Andrée Jeglertz, said: “For us it’s five games left and crucial games. It’s the end of the season so there’s a lot of things to battle for and it will be a tough end of the year.” Réshma Rao

Arsenal maintain momentum for run-in

Arsenal struggled to see games out early in the season. Dropped points here and there, against the likes of Aston Villa and Tottenham, are now costing them in the title race. Although it might be too little too late to hunt down Manchester City, the Gunners are maintaining momentum when it matters most. Their 2-0 win over London City Lionesses might not have been the most exciting match, but it was further proof that Renée Slegers and co have found a way to win routinely, even without some key players. “The circumstances were hard with the pitch and the wind,” Slegers said. “We had to deal with that and manage it so it wasn’t always the best technical football passing game that we’ve ever played but we had to win today, we had to do business today, and we pride ourselves on defending.” Emillia Hawkins

Olsson shines as Leicester’s problems mount

Liverpool’s Beata Olsson marked her first league start since December with a performance to remind everyone why she is considered one of the signings of the season. The 25-year-old Sweden forward had scored eight in eight appearances in all competitions before injury. Her opening goal against Leicester City set the tone for Liverpool in what felt like a six-pointer. Their 2-0 win at St Helens saw them create a four-point gap between them and the bottom-placed Foxes. The storm clouds are brewing over Rick Passmoor’s side who are missing nine key players as they fight for their WSL survival. They are yet to win a game in 2026, having suffered five straight defeats in the league. Two of those have now been against the teams fighting with them to avoid the relegation playoff, increasing concerns about whether they can dig themselves out of a hole. Sophie Downey

Everton’s energy and strength in depth decisive

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