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The Red Devils will now have a chance to go one better at Wembley and lift a first major women's honour, having lost to the Blues in last year's final

Two weeks ago, a quadruple was still on the cards for Emma Hayes in her final season in charge of Chelsea. Now, only two trophies remain on the table, the Blues defeated in last month's Continental Cup final before being beaten 2-1 on Sunday in the FA Cup semi-finals by Manchester United, who have a real chance of a first major honour as they prepare to face Tottenham at Wembley next month.

The Red Devils were the underdogs against the holders and reigning English champions, but they got off to a flying start when Lucia Garcia broke the deadlock inside the first minute. It was terrific work by Leah Galton down the left, who capitalised on Eve Perisset's error and put in a perfect cross for her team-mate to shock the Blues. Before Chelsea could create a real chance to equalise, it was two, Ella Toone getting the better of Melanie Leupolz before catching the opposition out with another fantastic delivery, this one converted by surprise starter Rachel Williams.

From there, Chelsea started to put United under real pressure. Erin Cuthbert saw a shot deflect just wide, Mary Earps made a flying save to thwart Lauren James and then the net rippled, James powerfully converting Niamh Charles' cut-back in first-half stoppage-time. That momentum continued after the break, James again bringing the best out of England team-mate Earps before Chelsea were left feeling aggrieved by a couple of penalty shouts that went ignored, first for a Katie Zelem handball and then a foul by Williams on Charles.

However, just as we looked poised for a grand finale, the chances seemed to dry up. Hayes threw on all of her attacking assets – Catarina Macario, Fran Kirby and Aggie Beever-Jones were among the five names introduced – yet it was almost too much, the XI on the pitch almost getting in each other's way in a gung-ho, going-for-it formation.

And so United, who could've even added a third, saw it out and will be returning to Wembley next month, a year on from their narrow 1-0 loss to Chelsea in last season's final. Hayes' Blues, meanwhile, need to pick themselves up and target glory in the Women's Super League and Champions League, after another trophy went begging.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Leigh Sports Village…

Getty ImagesLOSER: Emma Hayes

Hayes' time in charge of Chelsea has been truly remarkable. She's transformed this club from one that had never won a major trophy to the most dominant in English women's football, winning six WSL titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups. For her final season with the Blues to end without another flurry of trophies would be cruel, then. And yet, it could well end without any.

Sunday's defeat means only the WSL and the Champions League remain. Chelsea have never won the latter and will have to beat defending champions Barcelona to stand a chance of ending that wait – the Catalans arguably having the best team in women's football.

Even retaining the WSL looks extremely tricky. The Blues have been champions of England for four successive seasons, but are locked into a fierce battle with Manchester City to uphold that status, the Cityzens three points clear, having played a game more, with Chelsea having five matches remaining. It's going to be anything but easy to pick up one trophy then, never mind two, after United ensured their chances of a treble suffered the same fate as those quadruple hopes.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER: Marc Skinner

In a week which has seen United fans express their frustration at reports of head coach Marc Skinner being offered a new deal, the 41-year-old ensured the Red Devils will return to Wembley for a second successive season and with a massive chance of lifting a trophy.

Eyebrows were raised when his team was revealed, with Williams offered a rare start in a massive game, but it paid off as United thrived in picking up the flick-ons she contributed, while her headed goal for United's second was classic, brilliant centre-forward play.

Sometimes it has felt like United have gone into these big games without playing to their strengths, instead trying to go toe-to-toe with the established 'big three' and coming up short. On Sunday, they accepted they wouldn't have a lot of the ball, made the most of it when they did, and were clinical in a fantastic first half.

They rode their luck, but Skinner's game plan produced a monumental result, a first win over Chelsea and an FA Cup final which brightens up a season that, to this point, had been very disappointing. And he deserves credit for that.

LOSER: Eve Perisset

Perisset has been one of Chelsea's most impressive performers this season. She has probably flown under the radar a little bit, but she shouldn't have. She's been a rock at full-back, offered a lot going forward and is a reliable performer on set pieces.

Football is a brutal sport though and it was the France star who was at fault for United's opening goal on Sunday, failing to get enough on her pass as Galton pounced and delivered a cross for Garcia to break the deadlock.

"Eve Perisset has been outstanding for us," Hayes noted afterwards, "and the game can turn quite quickly." It shouldn't be forgotten what an excellent player she has been this season, but Sunday was tough for her, up against a real nuisance in Galton.

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Getty ImagesWINNER: Rachel Williams

Williams might not have the star profile of some of United's players, but she was the match-winner on Sunday thanks to an excellent first-half header. Her aerial ability, tireless running and clever movement caused Chelsea plenty of problems in the opening stages, with her flick-on inside the first minute leading to the goal that broke the deadlock.

"If you were Chelsea and you were predicting our starting line-up, you wouldn't have put Rachel in from the start, right?" Skinner said. "We knew that would give us an edge from the off. Of course, it's an incredible moment to score so early and it settles the game, I get that. But what we wanted to do is give their back-four three real threats, and that's not just with the ball, it's without the ball. It's Rachel's flick, it's Leah being aggressive, and then Lucia crashing in the back zone."

Williams has been used very well as a super-sub during her time with the club, and here she was showing that she can play a role from the start in these huge matches too, the type of which she would rarely be in the XI for. She knows exactly what she is good at and she plays to maximise her abilities in an intelligent and effective way. It worked a treat in this game.

Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said that Dhoni took the field only to get clarity since there was confusion about the no-ball decision

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-20191:46

Dhoni was fired up by the way the no-ball decision was handled – Fleming

Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler believes Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni’s decision to step onto the field to protest an umpiring call was “probably not” the right thing to do in the last over of their match on Thursday night. The incident took place with Super Kings needing eight runs off three balls. Ben Stokes bowled a waist-high full toss to Mitchell Santner, and even though umpire Ulhas Gandhe had signalled a no-ball immediately, square-leg umpire Bruce Oxenford later shook his head to overturn the original decision.That led to lengthy discussions mainly between Santner’s partner Ravindra Jadeja and the umpires before Dhoni, who had been dismissed off the previous ball, walked out to join them. Dhoni was later fined 50% of his match fees for a Code of Conduct breach.”I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do or not,” Buttler said at the post-match press conference of Dhoni’s decision to walk out on the field. “Obviously the tensions are running high in the IPL and every run counts. Yeah, it was a big moment in the game, but whether stepping onto the pitch is quite right? No, probably not.”Obviously, it’s a bit controversial. The umpires came to a decision but I was at the boundary so I wasn’t quite sure what was going on.”Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming later said that Dhoni took the field only to get clarity since there was confusion about the no-ball decision. He did not say if it was the right thing to do or not.”What wasn’t right was the confusion around the decision. It’s above my paygrade to really get further than that,” Fleming said.”My understanding and discussing it with the captain was we saw a no-ball called, and then there was confusion. Our understanding was that the umpire at the bowler’s end had called the no-ball and then there was confusion around whether it was a no-ball or not. MS was after some clarity and it didn’t seem to be coming. So, he took the opportunity to go out and discuss it with the umpires. That’s how I saw it and that’s how I discussed it with him afterwards.”He only just wanted clarity. The rights and wrongs will be discussed by everybody, including Mahi, I’m sure. But, I think, it’ll be a discussion for the umpires afterwards and I am a watcher as you guys are, for now. But he was certainly fired up about the way the decision was handled and why it was overturned or if it was overturned. So, there was a lack of clarity, obviously, for him and he wanted to get it clarified at a key moment. It’s unusual but he’s usually pretty calculated. It’ll be something he will be questioned about for sure, for a long time.”MS Dhoni is irate at a contentious no-ball call•BCCIRoyals had put on 151 for 7 and had Super Kings in trouble on 24 for 4 in the sixth over before Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu salvaged the chase with a 95-run stand. Both batsmen scored half-centuries and struck two fours and three sixes each to snatch the momentum from Royals.”It is a tough one to take, getting into a winning position and not able to get over the line, the boys will be very disappointed,” Buttler said. “But, I think that’s been the story of our season so far. We have had some games that we should have won and closed out but for a few reasons, we have not been able to do it. We need to get it right, fast.”Royals are now only above winless Royal Challengers Bangalore on the points table with one win from six games.How do they get out of it?”The way out is simple, we have to play better and longer,” Buttler said. “We are just not putting those performances together. We have played well in stages but against quality oppositions and some of the best players in the world, if you can’t do it for the whole 40 overs then it’s tough to win the game.”Fleming, too, admitted the weaknesses in his side, even though they sit on top of the table with six wins from seven games. The two main areas he identified that needed their attention were their fielding and death bowling.”There’s a lot of areas of concern,” Fleming said. “Our top order has been playing on a tough wicket in Chennai so we’ve got to make sure our confidence is high. Being 20-odd for 4, you’re not going to win many games. And [another concern is] just finishing off an innings with our death bowling. It’s hard and most teams are struggling. But if there are two areas we want to get better at, we’re working hard on, is that and we have to work hard on our fielding. We’ve got a number of holes but we know where they are and we’ll try and cover them up as much as we can.”

A new football style team manager will take overall charge of all aspects of the team, appointing coaching staff and captains

Liam Brickhill04-Aug-2019Ottis Gibson will not be South Africa’s coach for the team’s tour of India starting in September, with his tenure coming to an end and CSA not giving him an extension, while also announcing sweeping changes to the way the national men’s team will be run.A statement released by CSA suggested that an interim captain could be named for the tour of India, which means South Africa could also be preparing to not have Faf du Plessis continue as captain in all three formats. Du Plessis, incidentally, was named one of CSA’s Cricketers of the Year at an awards ceremony on Saturday night.As part of the restructure, a new football-style team manager will take overall charge of all aspects of the team, appointing coaching staff and captains. The coaches, medical staff, and the administrative staff will all report directly to the manager, who in turn will report to the director of cricket, working under the chief executive.The CSA board of directors approved the new structure at its meeting last week. The restructure includes the appointment of the position of director of cricket. Cricket South Africa’s manager of cricket pathways, Corrie van Zyl, will assume the position of acting director of cricket until the position is filled formally. This effectively means that all cricketing decisions within the system will be managed by van Zyl in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, CSA will advertise the positions of director of cricket, team manager and convener of selectors.

@MrODGibson gonna miss you coach. Have spent a lot of time together over the last 18 months and you become a friend of mine. You are a great man . Thank you for everything that you have done. We appreciate you. pic.twitter.com/Y0f5iyJzum

— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) August 4, 2019

Gibson’s is not the only high-profile exit from the camp. Dr Mohammed Moosajee, whose tenure comes to an end in September too, expressed his wish to not be considered for another term as team manager and team doctor, which the board accepted, bringing an end his 16-year involvement with South Africa.”I would like to thank Ottis Gibson, other members of the team’s current senior management, and our long-serving team manager, Dr Moosajee, for their national service to South African cricket,” CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe said. “I must stress that the new structure was not a rash decision. It was taken after much deliberation by the Board, taking all the factors into consideration about the current state of our cricket and also the plan that we need to get to within the timelines we have set.”This change will herald an exciting new era for SA cricket and will bring us into line with best practice in professional sport.”Also on the way out is Linda Zondi, the convener of selectors. Zondi, who was part of the selection panel that picked the Under-19 World Cup-winning squad in 2014, had been a selector since 2013, becoming convener in 2015. Media manager Lerato Malekutu has also resigned her position after nine years in a media role within the team.The reshuffle will also affect assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa, and batting and fielding coaches Dale Benkenstein and Justin Ontong respectively, with CSA announcing that members of team management, including the various assistant coaches, will not be retained as part of the new plan.

RB Leipzig's sporting director has hinted that Xavi Simons wants to join Chelsea but insists there is "no agreement" yet.

Simons wants Chelsea moveRB Leipzig man running out of timeClub chief says there's no deal yetFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Despite Simons reportedly being keen on Chelsea, and vice versa, the attacking midfielder played in Leipzig's 6-0 drubbing by Bayern Munich on Friday. For the time being, the Dutch international is set to stay at the Bundesliga outfit, but anything can happen – something Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schafer alluded to.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT RB LEIPZIG'S SPORTING DIRECTOR SAID

He told : "As of today (Friday), Xavi will stay with us. We’ve always said that we make all decisions based on sporting and financial considerations, and that’s why Xavi is our player and why he played today. The transfer market is still open. You never know what’ll happen. I can’t guarantee that 100%. Everyone knows about his ambitions. He’s also told us that. There have certainly been a few exchanges in recent weeks. As we saw today, Xavi was in the starting line-up. So, there has been no agreement yet. And that’s why it will remain that way for now."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Simons' Chelsea switch is reportedly contingent on the Blues being able to sell forward Christopher Nkunku this summer, but an exit for the Frenchman is proving difficult. The former Paris Saint-Germain man would be a quality addition for Enzo Maresca's team, although fitting him in may be a challenge, but there is no guarantee a transfer will happen.

Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT?

Time is running out for Chelsea to sign Simons before the transfer window shuts on September 1. The 22-year-old will hope to be in place at the Blues before their next Premier League fixture at home to London neighbours Fulham next Saturday.

Chelsea could reportedly move for Jules Kounde with the Barcelona star being viewed as an alternative to Real Madrid target Dean Huijsen.

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Chelsea want to reinforce their defenceHave set their sights on Barcelona's KoundeThe French defender has a contract until 2027Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to Chelsea have revived their pursuit of Kounde, a player they previously attempted to sign in 2022 when he was still at Sevilla. At the time, the Premier League giants were seen as frontrunners, but negotiations fell through, allowing Barcelona to step in and secure the Frenchman’s services for approximately €55m (£46m). Now, Chelsea appear determined to make another serious push for Kounde, believing that his ability to operate both at centre-back and right-back would add valuable versatility to their squad.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Chelsea are expected to submit a substantial offer to Barcelona in the coming weeks. However, Kounde remains committed to his current club and is not actively seeking an exit from Camp Nou. His future, however, may hinge on contract negotiations with the Catalans. His current deal runs until 2027, and while Chelsea can offer a higher salary and the opportunity to play in his preferred centre-back role, much will depend on Barcelona’s willingness to match his demands.

DID YOU KNOW?

Recognizing Chelsea’s renewed interest, Barcelona are reportedly prioritizing Kounde’s contract situation, making it their most urgent renewal case to secure his long-term commitment. However, due to an abundance of centre-backs at Barça, the Frenchman has been primarily deployed as a right-back, a position he does not favour. With the potential arrival of Jonathan Tah this summer, Kounde’s chances of reclaiming a central defensive role could diminish even further. Additionally, Barcelona are also looking to recruit another right-back, which could create more competition for his current spot.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

If Chelsea fail to secure Kounde, they are expected to shift their attention back to Huijsen. However, securing the Bournemouth defender may prove challenging given Real Madrid’s strong interest in the player. However, they are planning to offload multiple players to make room for fresh arrivals. Axel Disasi and Trevoh Chalobah have reportedly been made available for transfer, while there are also uncertainties surrounding the futures of Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile.

“I think 14 games is a good amount,” says Lancashire opener in response to Strauss review recommendations

Paul Edwards15-Sep-2022Keaton Jennings, the Lancashire and England opener, has called for the structure of the English season to be improved but has opposed the idea put forward by Andrew Strauss’s high-performance review that county cricketers need to play less or that the number of Championship matches should be reduced from 14.On Saturday, Jennings will lead out Lancashire against Kent in the Royal London Cup final at Trent Bridge at the end of a week in which the Emirates Old Trafford side have had no game. That works well as regards preparation for a white-ball match but it also means that in the 53 days from July 29 to September 19, Dane Vilas’ team will have played just one four-day game.Related

Thompson pledges to resolve 'worst game of Jenga' in focus on County schedule

Strauss review proposes smaller Championship top tier, 'revamped' 50-over competition

Other counties can point to similar eccentricities, not all of them caused by the Hundred, and Jennings’ comments come at the end of a week in which Somerset’s board told the ECB that the current schedule is “unacceptable”.”In my opinion you can keep the 14 County Championship games and that’s only what Ben Stokes said on social media a few weeks ago,” said Jennings. “But you can factor in breaks, so that you can play three four-day games and then have a break from the Championship. I think my view is representative and it certainly echoes what the England captain said.”I think 14 games is a good amount and the cricket we play is of good quality, but the problem comes when you have a week off at the start of April and then another at the start of September. Including the Royal London Final, we play 13 days in September whereas in April we were playing 12 in 17.”

Ab so bloody lutley https://t.co/2ih84reVTT

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) August 3, 2022