Erin Cuthbert hopes League Cup final win over Manchester United can 'give us momentum' ahead of huge month for Chelsea
By Rhys Jones
Updated 15/03/2026 at 20:18 GMT
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Erin Cuthbert and Lauren James hope that Chelsea's 2-0 League Cup win over Manchester United can give The Blues a huge boost of momentum as they plan for a vital run of fixtures in different competitions. Sonia Bompastor's side may be 10 points behind Women's Super League leaders Manchester City, but they picked up their first piece of silverware of the season and will hope for more.
Highlights: Chelsea edge Man Utd in FA Cup extra-time drama
Video credit: TNT Sports
Chelsea are hoping their League Cup success can be a springboard as they face a month of crucial matches in several competitions.
Sonia Bompastor's side picked up their first piece of silverware of the season with a 2-0 win over Manchester United in Bristol on Sunday, and the next few weeks will see them battle in quarter-final ties in both the UEFA Champions League and Adobe Women's FA Cup.
Captain Erin Cuthbert and goalscorer Lauren James both believe their League Cup triumph will give the side momentum as they begin a tricky run of fixtures.
Manchester City seem to have the Women's Super League title in their hands, with Chelsea 10 points behind the leaders and struggling for form at times during this campaign.
But more so than City or United, Chelsea have a seemingly ingrained belief in themselves when it comes to finals, and they used it to deliver yet another trophy.
"It was a battle," Cuthbert told the BBC. "It's always hard coming off the back of an international break. You don't know how it's going to go.
"But you just have to find a way to win and we did that today. I think we were pretty dominant over the course of the game.
"Just looking over and seeing the sea of blue flags, it's special. I've been here a long time. It means the same every single time I win a trophy. But as captain, you take a lot of the responsibility, so what a day.
"We've got another game on Wednesday and it's just going to give us momentum, give us belief that we are a good team.
"We've had up-and-down spells this season but we're a good team and we can beat anybody on our day."
James was gifted the opening goal after a poor mistake from the United defence, and made no mistake with the finish to open the scoring.
Aggie Beever-Jones extended their lead, but James was a livewire for the entire game as she carried her fine form for England back into the domestic scene.
As well as WSL games coming up, Chelsea face Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, and host Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup quarter-final, a game that will be live on TNT Sports.
"Amazing afternoon," James said. "It's so nice to get another trophy to start the rest of the season, and it's always nice to get on the scoresheet and help the team win.
"We have a squad full of quality and everyone digs in, everyone fills in. It goes to show the quality everyone has."
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With the league title likely out of reach unless City slip up drastically, Chelsea still have another two fronts to fight on in the form of both Europe and the FA Cup.
Few would bet against them in crunch games, and James admitted that winning such ties is something that is deep-rooted in the squad's mentality, no matter their form.
"I think it's just in our DNA, we always find a way to win whether we play well or not," James said. "We always make sure that no matter what we put up a fight and make it hard to beat.
"We need to use it as momentum and hopefully we can use this game as another step forward to keep working hard and achieve our dreams."
'They're winners' - Bompastor fuels Chelsea fire
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor told her side that "they're winners" before their 2-0 win over Manchester United, and hopes to finish the season with more trophies in the cabinet.
"It means a lot," Bompastor said. "When you play a final and you have the opportunity to grab a trophy, I told them before the game 'they're winners.'
"So I'm really pleased for my players. We worked hard, and we have a really big month and that's the best way to start it.
"When you are a winner, that's what you do. And I'm glad for my players, they deserve it. Hopefully we can grab more trophies. That's why we are coming here today.
"We want to give our all. I think we have a lot of quality, and it's our goal this month to perform at our best level, because we have big games coming and we want to go as far as possible in every competition. That's what we want to do and that's what we want to achieve."
WSL round-up as City stumble against Villa
WSL leaders Manchester City suffered a rare stumble and missed the chance to further extend their lead at the top of the table after being held to a frustrating goalless draw at Aston Villa.
Villa have won just four games all season but looked the better side as Andree Jeglertz’s unit looked disjointed and were perhaps suffering from the international break.
It means United and Chelsea now have a game in hand over City as they both hope to close the gap after battling each other in Sunday's League Cup final.
A 2-0 win for Arsenal at London City Lionesses saw The Gunners fire themselves to within two points of United in second, and just one point behind Chelsea.
Olivia Smith struck for the visitors in the 15th minute, and Stina Blackstenius sealed victory 14 minutes from time.
It heats up the race for top three and UEFA Champions League places dramatically, as Arsenal have a game in hand over Chelsea and United.
Everton captured just their sixth league win of the campaign as Kelly Gago struck a late winner in a 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur.
Yuka Momiki struck first for the visitors in the 12th minute and The Toffees kept their lead until Signe Gaupset’s 76th-minute equaliser, only for Gago to strike seven minutes from time as Everton extended their WSL winning streak to four games.
Liverpool drastically improved their chances of survival with a 2-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Leicester City.
Goals from Beata Olsson and Ceri Holland in each half ensured that Gareth Taylor’s side moved four points clear of the drop zone.
Stream the Premier League, Men's and Women's FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+
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