Manchester United are returning to Wembley Stadium for a second successive FA Cup final after ending Chelsea's treble hopes.
Sunday's 2-1 loss marks the latest chapter in a haunting unravelling of a season for the reigning league champions. This was not the way it was meant to go. This was meant to be a season-long celebration of all things Emma Hayes, a history-making season hoovering up the final pieces of silverware on offer.
But that’s the beauty of this game: The twists are as unpredictable as the most predictable turns.
That much was certain as Lucia Garcia met Leah Galton’s impeccable cross with 41 seconds gone to head beyond Hannah Hampton in goal for Chelsea, the damage inflicted as quickly as possible as United bid not only to upend Chelsea's treble fate but their own torrid winless history against the Blues.
It was a dream start and a dream result for United, the day’s indisputable underdogs who will face Tottenham in the FA Cup final. Dreams have been short-lived and far-fetched this season, with United's European jaunt and title hopes dashed long ago.
The FA Cup remained the only place where dreams persisted and with 20 minutes gone, the most lucid of them felt inconceivably attainable as Rachel William headed home Ella Toone's cross to double United’s advantage.
It was blood and thunder stuff from the hosts, the spectre of last year’s FA Cup final defeat looming on the fringes. For United boss Marc Skinner, a divisive character amid an underwhelming season, the start was vindication for his starting line-up selection which saw him drop in-form Nikita Parris for Williams and Galton.
Two goals down, Chelsea huffed and puffed but laboured to crack the art of finding the back of the net. Record-signing Mayra Ramirez could feel aggrieved as Maya Le Tissier went unpunished for a two-handed shove in the box, while Mary Earps produced two big saves to deny the reigning champions.
Obvious questions simmered of whether Chelsea’s faltering attack was the lingering consequences of a tempestuous Conti Cup final loss just two weeks earlier and hopes of a quadruple deflated at the first hurdle and a treble threatening to combust at the second.
With first-half injury time ticking away, Emma Hayes’ side drew one back after sustained pressure as Lauren James – booed upon arrival and any time she found herself on the ball – sniped one back with a side-footed shot.
The stakes at play here – a first piece of silverware for United, a first-ever victory over Chelsea for United, the opportunity to deny Hayes a second of four trophies in her final season – were on display as James and United defender Millie Turner got into a tiff in Earps’ goal, seeming to wrestle over the ball which James attempted to retrieve at quicker pace than Turner wanted.
Hostilities remained high after the interval. Earps was once again called upon to deny James’ looping shot with a sensational save. The United shot-stopper celebrated in characteristic style: all roaring expletives and fire. The match tore on in a similarly ferocious fashion.
Chelsea leathered shots at United's goal. Earps remained unassailable while shots pinged off determined United limbs, including Katie Zelem's arm which went unpunished. That more than half an hour remained to be played felt almost incongruous with the desperation of Chelsea's attack.
Another questionable call in the box left Blues players incandescent with 20 minutes gone. Hayes delved into her resources, calling on Catarina Macario, Fran Kirby, Sjoeke Nusken and Aggie Beever-Jones to wrest something back.
Earps unabashedly wasted time despite more than a quarter of an hour remaining, testament to the task at hand and United's game-plan being so close to executed. The yellow cards for United's cynicism grew into a pile, not that anyone in a United shirt minded considering the scoreline.
The chances continued like a cavalcade, Chelsea committing as many bodies forward as possible as they bid to salvage their FA Cup title defence. But the damage had been done early.
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