On Jan.20, two of the biggest clubs in England faced each other to decide who would advance to the Tyre’s Continental Cup semifinals. The reigning champions Chelsea Women were hosted by Manchester City Women in the Academy Stadium, Manchester. 

German midfielder Melanie Leupolz opened the score with a beautiful goal for Chelsea, her second since signing for the club in March 2020. The former Bayern Munich captain has been praised for her outstanding performances for her new club. Chelsea’s glory did not last long as Manchester City’s Chloe Kelly equalized not even 10 minutes later. By the 85th minute, Lauren Hemp seemed to have secured the semifinals spot for City with her late goal, but youngster Niamh Charles was determined to give her club a chance to fight for their place, striking into the top corner at the 89th minute. 

The game was everything fans were expecting it to be and more, 90 minutes of excitement and strong competition. As it ended on a tie by regulation time, the players came back to the field to play extra time. 

Chelsea Women came back with more strength than ever, having Norwegian Guro Reiten scoring into an empty net as City’s goalkeeper Karen Bardsley tried to palm Reiten’s teammate Pernille Harder’s cross. Ten minutes later, the captain of the Welsh National Team, Sophie Ingle, won the game for Chelsea scoring their 4th goal of the night with a beautiful left-footed rocket into the top corner.

The quarter-finals performance by Chelsea showed exactly why they are the reigning champions and how important squad depth is for a football team. With great logistics by manager Emma Hayes and great players not only in the starting lineup but also on the bench, they become a hard to beat team. Hayes also deserves praise for managing a phenomenal comeback after being one goal down at the near end of the match. Manchester City’s manager Gareth Taylor came up with a starting lineup that did not look strong enough to compete with a big team like Chelsea, but the regulation time performance proved that City also has a good squad depth.

The game is available on the free app the FA Player – a tool being used by the FA to guarantee that women’s football is being distributed worldwide and to grow the game. The semifinals will happen in early February against West Ham United, and will also be streamed at the FA Player. The winner of that match will face the winner of Leicester City v Bristol City in the big final. 

The match really showed how competitive the women’s game has gotten and how fun it is to watch a game where important moves are happening during its entirety, definitely a five stars game worthy of rewatching!