Sonia Bompastor ‘a bit sad’ at League Cup changes while Andrée Jeglertz steels Manchester City for season’s climax
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
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
