Chelsea Women Emphasise Trophy DNA Ahead Of League Cup Final Against Manchester United

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Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor stated that "winning trophies is part of our DNA" as Chelsea get ready to face Manchester United in the League Cup final on Sunday. Chelsea hold the trophy, having beaten Manchester City in last season’s final, which gave Bompastor a first English title.

This final offers Bompastor a chance to claim a third domestic cup with Chelsea. In the Women’s Super League era, only Emma Hayes with eight trophies and Nick Cushing with five have collected more. Among WSL managers, only Cushing, Shelley Kerr and Laura Harvey have won each of their first three finals.

Chelsea appear in a seventh League Cup final, with Arsenal the only club to reach more, on ten. Bompastor values such occasions and described how they match Chelsea’s identity. "Really exciting, I think as I already mentioned multiple times, when you are in Chelsea that’s the games you want to play," said Bompastor.

Bompastor explained the broader aim behind Chelsea’s approach to the competition. "You want to play to compete as far as you can in every competition, you want to play finals and you want to lift silverware, so that’s the first opportunity for us on Sunday and we are really looking forward to that. That’s a really important moment for us, the first opportunity for us to lift a trophy and that’s part of our DNA. We see the game on Sunday being an opportunity for us to be successful and to hopefully define the rest of the season."

Manchester United become the eighth different side to contest a League Cup final, and the first newcomers in the showpiece since Bristol City reached the 2020-21 edition, when Bristol City lost 6-0 to Chelsea. Of the previous seven debutants, three lifted the trophy: Arsenal in 2011, Manchester City in 2014 and Chelsea in 2019-20.

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For Manchester United, reaching the final represents progress, but expectations stay high inside the squad. Fridolina Rolfo stressed that performance must lead to silverware. "Yes, we should be proud, but of course we're not happywe want to win the final as well," Rolfo told The Guardian.

Rolfo outlined the shared targets within Manchester United’s dressing room. "This is what we all strive for. The club wants this. We all want to win it and we strive to get there and now were there. Weve been performing really well and we had a great game against Arsenal [in the semi-final], so we deserve to be in this final."

Both clubs arrive with strong records and clear ambitions, so Sunday’s League Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United is set against a backdrop of trophy expectations, historical milestones and recent form, with the result likely to influence confidence and momentum through the rest of the 2025-26 campaign.