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Chelsea are coming for Manchester United. They have been for most of the season, after all. In the Women’s Super League it has been United who have set the pace at the top, with defending champions Chelsea in pursuit, inching closer as the games in hand have ticked down. Chelsea have won both encounters between the sides this campaign, and if they win their next three league fixtures the title will be theirs once again. United, despite enjoying a year of considerable progress, would be powerless to stop it. But at Wembley on Sunday, as Manchester United face Chelsea in the Women’s FA Cup final, Marc Skinner’s side will be in control of their own fate. They will meet on equal footing, with one half of a sold out Wembley bathed in red, the other soaked in blue, on what is another historic occasion in the women’s game this season. An attendance of almost 90,000 will smash the record for a women’s club match in England and sets the stage for United’s first Women’s FA Cup final, five years on from the team’s rebirth in 2018. This season has seen United take an important step forward - yet the presence of Chelsea in the final is a daunting reminder of how far there is still to go. While United aim to win a first major trophy, Chelsea are going for their third FA Cup in a row under Emma Hayes, as well as a fourth consecutive WSL crown. The title race is unfamiliar ground for United but Chelsea have been here before; last season brought the double, the year before a treble. Now a double beckons once again. Though for United, it beckons too. After knocking on the door of England’s top three in recent years, United have smashed through this season. Champions League qualification was the target at the start of the year but Skinner’s team have surpassed that, turning games that would have finished as draws last term into wins to lead Chelsea by a point and reach the FA Cup final. There is a spirit and momentum behind the Manchester side, but the problem for the WSL leaders is they have only lost two games this season, and both have been to Chelsea. “Beating them in both games, it’s a good psychological advantage,” says Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert, but United believe they are getting closer. “Every time we play Chelsea, we improve,” says United’s captain Katie Zelem. “We know what they are about.” Trying to overcome it is another question, though. In March’s league meeting at Kingsmeadow, Chelsea stifled United without the ball and won the game thanks to a moment of brilliance from Sam Kerr. The Londoners’ approach was one usually reserved for the likes of Barcelona or Lyon in the Champions League, which shows the level of respect this United side are demanding. “What they have done is brilliant,” Cuthbert admitted. “We know what their threats are but it’s about confidence and belief,” Zelem continued. The England international is one of the remaining members of the side that earned promotion from the Championship in 2019, along with Ella Toone, Leah Galton and Millie Turner, and recognises the difference in mentality this season. “We don’t change now for the other teams, whereas in the first few seasons it was more about staying in the game and taking a point or nicking a win.” Zelem added. “Now, you see in a lot of the games we dominate possession, we dominate the ball.” United have also developed a taste for late goals. “‘Fergie time’ is what we used to call that,” Zelem laughs. November’s 3-2 win against Arsenal at the Emirates was the “turning point”, after an 87th-minute equaliser from Turner and a 91st-minute winner from Alessia Russo. It showed United that they could take the next step. “When we play against Arsenal it feels like we have a psychological edge over them now,” Zelem states. “It’s about taking that mentality into Chelsea.” For Chelsea, the challenge will be in how they rise to United’s motivation. “They are a team who are hungry - when you haven’t won anything you’ve got a certain hunger and desire to get there,” Cuthbert says. “We need to match that as a bare minimum if we want to compete and win this battle.” Chelsea will also have the experience of the occasion, while the danger for United is they fail to turn up in the way teams often do after ending a long wait for a major final. “It’s the mentality of who turns up on the day,” says Cuthbert. “Who shows up and is present, and who doesn’t let the game get to them.” You can usually guarantee that Chelsea take to Wembley when they arrive, in the same way a certain Australian striker does. Kerr has scored doubles in each of Chelsea’s previous two FA Cup final wins - the first against Arsenal in 2021 was sensational, the second against Manchester City last season utterly dramatic. This year, Chelsea have hit their stride following defeat to Barcelona in the Nou Camp in the Champions League semi-finals, rattling off a 7-0 win over Everton and a 6-0 win against Leicester in their last two games. Pernille Harder has returned from injury to hit braces in both, in what is a further boost ahead of the rest of the run-in. Having a target to aim for has helped Chelsea. “I like this position,” Hayes said after Wednesday’s Leicester win returned them to a point behind United. “I like putting pressure on others, it’s fun for me.” It hasn’t been much fun for Chelsea’s rivals in previous years, and as United come face to face with the trophy-winning machine who are breathing down their necks at Wembley, it will be their turn to try and avoid a familiar fate. Read More ‘Everyone wants to see us fail’: How Erin Cuthbert drives Chelsea to stay on top ‘Manchester United lives in my heart’: How Katie Zelem epitomises ‘crazy journey’ to FA Cup final Emma Hayes revelling in Chelsea’s WSL title pursuit of Manchester United How Katie Zelem epitomises Man United’s ‘crazy journey’ to FA Cup final Unai Emery urges Aston Villa to grasp European chance ahead of Tottenham clash I love the big games – Sam Kerr relishing FA Cup final at sold-out Wembley

Former England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from international football on this day in 2014. Gerrard was one of the best midfielders of his generation, making 114 appearances for England, which places him fourth on the men’s all-time list. But while he regularly tops fan polls as Liverpool’s greatest player, Gerrard rarely hit the same heights for England during his 14-year international career. His decision came after England’s dismal showing in the 2014 World Cup, where Roy Hodgson’s side crashed out at the group stage after defeats to Italy and Uruguay and a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica. Gerrard was handed his debut by Kevin Keegan aged 20 in a 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley in 2000 and was named in the squad for the European Championship later that summer, coming on against Germany in the group stage. It was against the Germans that he bagged his first goal the following year, a memorable strike in a famous 5-1 World Cup qualifying win which, along with two strikes at the 2006 World Cup, made for arguably his best moments in an England shirt. He would have had a place in history as the only Englishman to play in four World Cups had injury not kept him out of the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea. On a personal level he enjoyed a fine England career, captaining his country 38 times and scoring 21 goals. But the disappointing 2010 and 2014 World Cup campaigns – England exited the latter in Brazil bottom of their group and without a win – were tough for Gerrard to take and, like the rest of the ‘Golden Generation’, he retired without a major international honour. He went on to play another season for Liverpool in 2014-15, becoming the third player to make 500 or more Premier League appearances for one club after Ryan Giggs and former team-mate Jamie Carragher. He joined LA Galaxy in 2015 and made 19 appearances for the Major League Soccer club before announcing his retirement as a player in November 2016, aged 36. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Pep Guardiola said the gruelling demands placed on his Manchester City players by an intense schedule means he will be forced to make changes to his line-up in the coming weeks in order to protect their welfare. City face four games in 11 days, beginning with Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Red Star Belgrade at the Etihad, before welcoming Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday. They play Newcastle in the Carabao Cup third round on September 27 and travel to Molineux to face Wolves three days later, all off the back of an international window that saw several of Guardiola’s team endure long trips to and from South America. City came from behind to beat West Ham 3-1 at the London Stadium on Saturday, with Julian Alvarez and Ederson playing key roles despite having returned only days earlier from international duty with their respective national teams Argentina and Brazil. Guardiola singled out West Ham’s Edson Alvarez, who played for Mexico in their 3-3 draw with Uzbekistan in Georgia in the early hours of Thursday before starting for David Moyes’ team on Saturday. He lasted 66 minutes before being withdrawn, but Moyes confirmed there was no injury and he was only looking to preserve Alvarez’s fitness. Nevertheless, Guardiola shared his concerns over the impact the schedule is having on players. “It is a problem when you have a lot of injuries,” he said. “The problem is not today, it’s in three, four, five games. We have the Carabao Cup away at Newcastle, I’m sorry but we will have to use (from) the second team some players. “Kevin (De Bruyne) is still out, John (Stones) is still out, Mateo (Kovacic). Jack (Grealish). When you have all the squad you go to Newcastle with a good team and whatever. Right now, it is just to rest, to recover well, training (to get) fit and to arrive on the day of the game in the best condition possible. “We cannot waste energy because otherwise, these guys who have been playing for the national team, travelling from Bolivia (Julian Alvarez), from Brazil (Ederson) – it’s so exhausting for them. “Look at Alvarez from West Ham, 15 or 20 minutes after half-time, he’s out. Why? He’s come from South America, he’s jetlagged – 12, 15 hours, he’s come here, played against City. We treat the players in not a good way. We are so responsible for how we treat the players.” Guardiola added that he was in awe of the physical condition of Kyle Walker, who returned to City’s line-up after scoring his first goal for England in the draw with Ukraine and put in a clinical performance against West Ham. “I would say I’m not surprised (by his physicality), I’ve worked with him for seven years,” said Guardiola. “But I have to admit that when he is stable and happy, he has (this) ability. “His mum and dad gave him some genetics that our mum and dad didn’t give to us.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jude Bellingham and language lessons help Jamie Bynoe-Gittens settle at Dortmund Son Heung-min hopes Tottenham’s family feeling can galvanise Richarlison Louis Rees-Zammit explains Cristiano Ronaldo celebration at Rugby World Cup

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