Portland Thorns stun Washington Spirit, Boston Legacy’s big entrance & what does League Cup title mean for Chelsea?

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It was, I mean, rowdy outies always like the vibes are always high there, so that was

no different.

It was, I guess, a turnaround of the last time the team was there just because they didn't

win.

And I think, I mean, Theo, you let me know what you think.

I was a little surprised by that result.

I was not expecting Portland Thorns to come out with that.

Anything can happen in the end of your cell, but yes, I also would have predicted a

spirit win.

Don't get me wrong, but yeah, anything can happen in the end of your cell.

Hello, everybody, Julian Sackivitz here.

Very warm welcome to full-time happy first weekend in the NWSL, because it is back, baby.

We saw 19 goals, two red cards, and not a single draw in the first ever 16 team, eight

match opening weekend.

On today's show, I'm going to be joined by the athletics Melanie Anzi Day to talk about

going to two NWSL opening weekend games in the space of just 24 hours witnessing a sold-out

outy field on opening night in the US Capitol, and then heading up to Foxboro, Massachusetts

to see history unfold as the Boston legacy officially kicked off life in the NWSL.

After that, we get you caught up on everything else that happened across the league, including

who brought smiles to our faces in their returns.

There were a few of them.

We'll finish out the show with bringing in Megan Farringa from across the pond to get

the latest on Chelsea winning the 2026 Women's League Cup in Bristol City.

And, how much it matters for Chelsea and Sonya Bonepastor.

Plus, four countries have now qualified for the Women's World Cup.

That and so much more coming up on the show today.

Time now to bring in our reporter for the Athletic Melanie Anzi Day who was Chris Crossing

the North Eastern United States on this NWSL opening weekend.

Hello, Melanie.

Hello, yes.

I was up and down the North East Corridor for the past 54 hours, I think, from beginning

to end of my trip, so definitely a little tired, but, you know, happy I did it.

Were we on Amtrak or were we by car?

Amtrak and also by train on my plane for the DC to Boston, because I don't think there's

any other way to have made that one on time because of how close the turnaround was.

Very exciting.

And to keep us on track and fact check us and all those types of things, we've got producer

Theo.

True, true.

Hello, Theo.

Hello.

Yes.

So great to hear about, I mean, we'll get into it, but what a treat going from trains across

the United States to get get in some NWSL Melanie, I'm very jealous.

It was a lot of fun.

Okay.

We're going to start in DC at Rady out of your first stop on this road trip.

Can you take me inside outy field?

This is the first game that the fans could welcome back Trinity Rodman because when they

finished their last season, it was to be determined if Rodman would be with the squad

come this season.

It was, I mean, Rady outy is always like the vibes are always high there.

So that was no different.

Of course, it was, I guess, a turnaround of the last time the team was there just because

they didn't win.

And I think, I mean, Theo, you let me know what you think.

I was a little surprised by that result.

I was not expecting Portland Thorns to come out with that.

Anything can happen in the NWSL, but yes, I would also would have predicted a spirit

win.

Don't get me wrong, but yeah, anything can happen in the NWSL.

But I mean, after watching that game, you know, some questions around, I guess, some

of the offseason changes with the spirit, but I will say it's the loudest stadium, but

it's also the quietest whenever the opposing team scores.

So it was very silent when Olivia Mulchry in the 53rd minute got her goal.

Yes.

So the final score for that game was spirit Nail didn't have that on my bingo card.

And the Portland Thorns won.

You mentioned missing key pieces and the one Melanie that that comes to mind for fans

is that they now are adjusting to life without Cory Bethune.

Absolutely.

I mean, I was thinking back to their last game there when they were, you know, facing

the Portland Thorns going into the final for a second year in a row.

And Croy was the player that had the winning goal that kind of got them across the finish line.

So now not having that, not having her there, not that the team doesn't have the ability

to adjust, but they just have to.

And I don't think we've seen that yet.

Melanie, one of the last times we had, we had you on the show.

You were talking about the USM's national team roster and Jill kind of pointed out that

Olivia Mulchry was one of the names that you and Tamara both had, which maybe you both

thought you were a bit cool by picking her.

Do you think Mulchry scoring this goal, winning it at Audi Field, silence, I love the way

to about the sound of silence was sort of deafening that this was the game that knocked

the Portland Thorns out of the playoffs last year.

She is sort of the hero that maybe we don't talk about enough in this league or we don't

talk about being a major, major player, possibly an MVP candidate in the end of the cell.

Was this a, was Friday night, sort of the opening night of the season, a wake up call that

maybe it's, it's Mulchry season and we, and we didn't even know it.

Yeah, it's funny because I did say she's one of my bubble players in the midfield, but

just because of the depth.

But also it's interesting what Mulchry, because I thought back to what was it, I think in

October, when I think Olivia had a brace, I believe it was, but Emma Hayes was asked

about specifically about Olivia's performance that day.

And she mentioned there was an anecdote that she gave that stuck with me about how the,

the first time that Emma Hayes was hired, that, that Olivia Mulchry had emailed her directly

saying, I'm so excited to meet you.

Please let me know how I can improve what I can do.

And Emma spoke at the time about how Olivia is the kind of person that wants things done

yesterday.

So I think we're seeing, you know, Olivia, someone who has so much more potential to her

because she still is so young.

I think we forget with how young she is.

And I do think maybe this season, you know, she's vying for that World Cup spot and she's

doing what it takes to get there.

And I think, yeah, I think it is kind of a little bit of a wake up call.

I do think we've seen this before from Olivia, but I'm excited to see what more she can

do this year.

So yeah, to your point, I think the thorns were out for a little bit of revenge after

their playoff exit came in DC last year.

And Olivia Mulchry wanted to score that goal in this game, but she did it here.

She did it here.

And that got the thorns, what's a really convincing start to the season.

So I want to give them their, their flowers for a minute.

Did this result for both of you change more?

I know it's week one people, but that's all we can do is prove you a week one, okay?

Did this result change more the way you think about the thorns this season or the spirit?

Love that question.

I would say the spirit just because I expected more from them.

Obviously, they also have Aubrey Kingsbury, who's not going to be on the field this season

because she announced her pregnancy last month.

Kingsbury is someone who leaves, you know, a gaping hole on this roster, especially with

the Washington spirit being a team that always comes out at the end, leaving things to the

last minute.

She's always someone who was able to be there if they did reach penalty kicks.

So I think there's going to have to be some sort of evolution from this roster, but they

do have, you know, some promising, the fact that they are stable in having the same coach

are not too different with a lot of changes.

So I think they could come around from this.

In my mind, that's not much of an excuse, only because Morgan Messner in the Portland

Thorns goal was making her end up sell debut.

She'd never played a game before.

Mackenzie Arnold's out the Asia Cup with Australia, Bella Bixby picks up an injury.

So the thorns goalkeeping position, I mean, you've got nobody in there.

So like, yes, you lose Kingsbury, but Sandy MacKyver, who did start for the spirit and

is likely the gut starting goalkeeper is a much more experienced keeper than a counterpart

with Portland.

So much for much less in my opinion.

Thorns also have so many players out with injuries.

I think it changes in a way, a lot of the ways I thought about the thorns.

Although I do really stand by this idea, anyone could be anyone.

It's just interesting that obviously the last time we saw these two teams, the spirit

was so convincing in the win.

But for me, it just shows a lot about Robman's rustiness, whether or not that is individually

or with her teammates.

You play a front three of Rosemund Kuassi Giff Monday and Trinity Robman.

How many times have those three players lined up together?

Not enough to be cohesive.

So it doesn't really change that much in my opinion in terms of how good spirit might

be in six months time, but maybe right now we've got a lower surrogate fixations, but

still the ceiling on this team in those players is really high.

Well, we'll see how much they figure out because this coming weekend, the spirit travel

to Racing Louisville in the Portland Thorns, host the Seattle Rafe.

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Alright, let's move on to the second stop on Melanie's Road Trip.

And that was Foxboro, Massachusetts, the home of the Boston Legacy, the New England

Revolution, and the New England Patriots.

So this is an NFL stadium.

This holds 70, close to 70,000 people.

And the vibes were good.

You could feel through the TV that there was like a lot of buzz and excitement for this

expansion team debut.

But maybe for the viewers at home that don't know, and soccer games do not sell out there.

That would be an exorbitant number, Melanie.

What was the feeling like inside Gillette Stadium?

The vibes are definitely great.

I will say you could feel the atmosphere.

It was a little awkward seeing, you know, like the half-empty stadium with the upper

bowl.

But of course, like you said, that would be unrealistic to expect that many fans out

of game like that.

And the turnout that they did have would sell out a majority of NWSL stadiums.

So there was a ton of people who were there.

They were all cheering.

I think the one thing that stood out to me is that these fans are getting to learn these

players as they go.

So I think towards the end of the game, you could see they were cheering more for certain

players.

They had more of, I guess, like a rapport relationship with them.

So the vibes were definitely high.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the legacy brings for the rest of the season.

And also, you know, they do have some games in Rhode Island at a much smaller venue.

And I imagine those will all be sold out if they continue this momentum and interest

with the fanbase.

Yeah.

And we'll find out, too, if that's the better move until down the road that they get their

own spot.

For our listeners that didn't listen last week, we talked about how, with the World Cup

venues teams, including the rain, are going to be pushed out to other venues and that

is the case for the Boston legacy.

All right.

So Gotham came in, winning champions, and to very little surprise, played the spoiler.

They got the 1-0 narrow victory on Saturday afternoon.

Theo, what were your impressions watching it from across the pod?

It's been a long off season.

That was my first, it felt like a preseason game.

No shade to the raining champions and Boston legacy who fielded nine players, it should

be said.

You've never played the end of yourself before, which I know we talked at length on our expansion

podcast.

Listen, you can go listen to that.

We were all very interested, and Melanie, I want to hear more from you about what this

Boston team would look like, who are these players?

We haven't necessarily seen playing the league like the end of yourself before.

So it was really exciting to see them, and to be fair, it sounds like a backhand of complement

to lose 1-0 to the raining champions is not a terrible result.

But I don't think Boston looked great.

They fouled a lot.

They disrupted Gotham, but Gotham are a funny team because they often like playing that

kind of role.

So it didn't really suit.

Boston were almost like playing the Gotham role and that they were got them exactly.

Gotham were getting out of Gotham, but Juan Colossano said something extremely strange as

well, which is he put his best two forwards, Esther Gonzalez and Jordan Dudley, who's a

rookie, we're all very excited to see on the bench.

And then he brought them both on at half time with his only two substitutes of the game.

He made them at the break.

So really interesting tactical battle, almost Juan left the cavalry in his back pocket, brought

them on Esther comes on and scores the goal, the winning goal.

And it's sort of like I think maybe went to plan for Juan, but I thought there were a lot

of strange decisions with the personnel, the tactics, the flow of the game was very crunchy.

Bianca Senjorges does Bianca Senjorges things get sent off.

So yeah, lots really fascinating, not a beautiful much by any means, but endlessly fascinating.

Melinda, I don't know if you saw it any differently.

No, I will say one of the things that, you know, coming into this game, there was questions

around some availability of players, you know, you didn't have Mandy, you didn't have

Runenia out of injuries, Lily real, even though she was available and she did play this game.

Obviously, she also is from Boston.

So I'm sure there's probably some want of her to be there in the stadium in front of her

family, friends who were all there.

That's a big moment.

Huge moment.

And she talked about it at length after the post game, but also, you know, they put

Midge on the wing at right back, which was a little different, but I think that just

speaks to the availability of players and potentially maybe that's why they went with

what they did and they didn't have Esther in.

You know, they didn't have Jordan in.

The welcome to the end of this all moment, you know, maybe waiting, having a player like

Jordan, be welcome to the league later on and seeing what Boston is like, because of

course, as a coach, you have no idea what the team is going to be.

You can watch as much film and as much clips and preseason, but you don't really know until

you see the first 45.

So I think maybe it was a cautious move by Juan.

And of course, Esther coming in the second half, doing what Esther does, you know, reviving

the golden boot race in a way between her and Banda, it was exciting to see.

It felt very 2025, but yeah, I will say, Gotham was definitely not the full force, but

I will say it was exciting to see the glimpses of what Boston is capable of.

I think there were little moments where you saw like a back heel pass here, good connection

there.

There were just little glimpses of what they could do when these players, you know,

they've only been together for eight weeks.

So being able to see what they are able to do when they build that chemistry more.

And also when these players actually learn what it's like to play in the end of yourself,

it was a good start for them, definitely.

And obviously have a lot of growth to do though at the same time.

When we talked to Philippa Patao last week that had coached the Boston legacy, we got

the impression Theo that she is a high, high octane manager, high octane attitude.

Yes.

What were your first impressions of Boston, not in terms of, you know, breaking down the

X's and nose of this game, but the type of identity that you thought they were, that

they're looking to strengthen together.

One of the things that I got them players kept repeating in the post game was how aggressive

they were and how high of a press they've had.

So like I think just having that in mind and maybe whatever is coming down from Philippa,

after the game she did say, I'm very proud of this team.

I'm very proud of this organization.

I'm very proud of the amount of fans that came out, but I'm competitive and we lost.

And we need to win.

So I think it's, I'm excited to see maybe more of that high octane ability from the team,

maybe more.

Obviously, we have to talk about the red card, right, fouls, all those things.

I'm sure we'll get to that, but the first red card of the NWSL season, right?

The first red card for Boston legacy.

So I know what you want to talk about, Theo.

There.

One, I want your thoughts for sure on the little glimpses of that identity, but then was

it a red card?

I think for me, it probably was.

I'm sure Philippa disagreed, but I think persistent fouling in the situation, Bianca St. George

found herself in, I think you're going to get sent off without we saw weirdly enough.

The only other red card of the weekend was also for Denver Summit, the other 2026 expansion

side.

I think Nick Cushing, the Denver Summit manager was a bit more, I think in the off, in

the post game, a little bit more upset about the red card for Janine Sonnes, where in

my book, I think if you slide in like that, even if you didn't mean it, he talked about

her not being malicious.

I think that's a red card because I think she loses control of her body and a boot is

too hard.

It's too dangerous.

Exactly.

Janine's boot was too high in my opinion.

I didn't really have a problem with the ref doing that.

I think, Bianca St. George, when you're doing persistent fouling, you're going to talk

a lot more about other decisions in the game, right?

Where was the ball?

How is it affecting play?

But at the end of the day, I think St. George, it was on our third foul of the day.

It's not like it was a huge amount, but I think when you're already on a yellow card,

you make that decision.

I think she probably had to go, Melanie, luck for me.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

I rewatched it ahead of her call just to be sure, but it wouldn't be a straight red, right?

It was a foul, clearly, but exactly.

It was a yellow, and she had one already, so it makes sense.

It makes sense.

You have to be smarter.

I think the only reason it's maybe ironic is because she was one of the most experienced

end of the cell in terms of end of the cell experience.

Players on this team.

She'd been in the league since 2019.

Of course, as long-time listeners of the show will know, this was her fourth end of

the cell red card and is a player who led the end of the cell in fouls last year, averaging

a foul every 25 minutes.

So in many ways, maybe this was just, be anchor St. George's doing, be anchor St. George

things.

But I thought it was kind of fun.

I mean, Melanie, tell me before we let you go, like a little bit more about what the fans

were like.

How did they take in their team for the first time and tell me about the half-time show?

They looked blacked in from the card.

They looked blacked in.

Yeah.

I'm not excited about the red card, but would they boo in the ref or like, because it's

a moment where the crowd get involved, right?

Yeah.

I do think the crowd was reacting to the red card, the fouls, the potential goals, the

Casey Murphy save, blocking Jaden Shaw's attempt.

That was a big moment, I remember.

They had the wave at one point, if I recall correctly, they had the little towels they

were swirling.

So the vibes were just, you know, it was like a soccer team that had been there before.

You just run of the mill, like something that already were there.

It just felt so routine, so natural.

And the half-time show, I will say, they were also, the fans were also kind of really going

in with that, you know, vibing with Donny Walberg.

New kids on the block.

Yes.

Incredible.

You know, they had a lot of fun in the game, right?

I mean, the midnight of being from the area kind of does something to you, like if you had

Bon Jovi at MetLife or at a Gotham game, like we'd go crazy.

It was still time.

It was still time.

Hey, I mean.

They all ever butch west.

Make your biggest signing today.

Get Bon Jovi to a Gotham game.

I'm here for half-time show.

I don't care who it is, you want to do it.

Go for it.

Okay.

So Melanie, you are at the two biggest attendance matches of the weekend.

So very, very cool.

and PS, guys, seven of the eight games this weekend.

We're decided by just one goal,

a little fun fact we'll leave you with

before we say goodbye to our NW sales segment.

One name, who put the biggest smile on your face this weekend?

And we all might say the same person.

I'm gonna go with Sophia Wilson.

But that's because we're winning today

for those of you that are listening and not watching.

We are both in hour.

I believe this was like a holiday gift of sorts,

athletic black sweatshirts.

But yeah, Sophia Wilson.

Because she was teasing so hard.

So I was like, you couldn't not do it.

Making her first appearance since November 11th of 2024.

Finn Thorne's fans have been waiting for MVP Golden Boot winner.

GG's mob.

Sophia Wilson returns to the NWSL.

Even a road crowd can appreciate Sophia Wilson's return.

Can I jump on the comeback player, Ban Wagon?

It was a great weekend of comeback players

because we also had Savvy King

returning to the end of itself in California, in L.A.

for Angel City, which was really, really powerful to see

and obviously she looked great.

And actually, after the game, head coach Alex on the stride,

so she's ready to go 90 minutes

and that she's in really good shape.

And I think the player that maybe was my player of the weekend

was Barbara Banda.

Another player we've waited 208 days for her to be back,

playing football in themselves.

She plays, she looks absolutely sensational.

School is a magical goal against the Seattle Rain

with Claudia Dickie glued to the spot in goal

for the Seattle Rain.

And I think, man, Banda MVP for me right now after week one.

It's only one week, but it was really good to see her back.

It's what I put a smile on my face.

Those, this feels like a good place to put a bow

on this conversation, because we know we've got months and months

more of these combos to come.

Get a light forward, you're going to see James.

Find Sebastian in it.

And Chelsea lead in the final of the Women's League Cup.

And it had to be Lauren James.

They may have been some NWL action this weekend to say the least,

but that doesn't mean there wasn't plenty action

across the pond as well.

For more on that, we bring in Megan Farringa.

Hi, Megan.

Hi, how are you?

I'm great.

How are you doing on this lovely Monday evening?

Monday time.

It's cold, it's rainy, it's gray, it's UK.

But I got to watch football this weekend, so I'm OK.

All right, let's talk about that football.

The one game that we want to talk to you about is Chelsea.

Lifting their second straight league cup this weekend

in Bristol City, a two-neil victory.

Thanks to goals from Lauren James and Aggie Beaver Jones,

defeating Manchester United.

Can you take us inside this one?

Yeah.

Down in Bristol City at Ashton Gates.

The league cup is weird, and I think

that the context of that needs to sort of come in.

So the league cup is at start there.

It's the first trophy on offer and in the WSL season.

And the league cup is still trying to figure out what it is.

Is it a trophy of prestige?

Is it the lesser cousin?

Like, do we all love subway?

Like, we're all still trying to figure that one out.

Subway, the presenting sponsor.

Subway, with those presenting sponsors.

It was kind of funny.

There's a subway about a five-minute walk from the stadium.

And there was no mention anywhere at that subway

that it was happening to sponsor the only game of football

that was on about 0.1 miles away from it.

So we're still in the works there.

But are there a lot of subways in England?

No, there's not that many.

I just got passed.

There's a good number.

But so you've got this trophy, right?

And since 2011, only three teams have won it.

Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea.

So in that sense, you wouldn't say

that it's the most competitive trophy on offer,

and a lot of people are going for it.

But it's also kind of a default badge of honor

for the best teams in the WSL.

Effectively, if you want to exist and not highest echelon,

you win the lead cup.

It's just a default mechanism for you.

Even in your worst season, you can probably win the lead cup.

And that is why it was really important for many United

to potentially win this game is to kind of say, we are here.

We keep talking about many United as a potential top three team,

but certainly a top four team.

But if you want to cement yourself as a top three team,

ironically, you have to win the lead cup.

Like, that is the way to do it.

So it was really exciting because you have a Chelsea side

that the last time that we spoke, we spoke.

They haven't been their best.

This is probably the first time in six years.

They're not going to win the WSL title.

They're probably at their weakest.

They're not as convincing as they have been.

They've suffered two defeats in a row.

I mean, that wasn't heard of for over a decade.

You've got this Manchester United side

that theoretically is the best it's ever been.

So why is it that Manchester United

can't get over this hump of Chelsea?

And that is what this became was like a tactical test,

but as much of a psychological test as well

as our Manchester United capable of finally getting

over this albatross.

And in the end, they weren't.

So for this trophy that we're still trying to figure out

what it means, it feels like it would have been

a massive victory of sorts for Manchester United,

whereas for Chelsea, it's almost like a bare minimum

at this point.

When we spoke last time, you mentioned it.

The headline of that show was our Chelsea in crisis.

Now that they win this fourth week up,

where do they rank on the crisis scale?

I'm on the crisis scale.

I'd say, I don't want to say paused,

but it's definitely like we're still in it.

Like the fact that Chelsea have managed to do this

definitely shows they still have the caliber of being Chelsea.

Like this is still a Chelsea side

that's able to do it.

If they didn't win this, then you'd say,

okay, hold on a sec.

Like this is even worse than we thought.

This is a total implosion.

At the moment, they are still in the running

for a potential trouble.

Like they could win the FA Cup, the lead cup,

and the year in the Champions League.

Is that going to happen?

We're not entirely sure yet.

But like that is still on the cards for them.

So this was super important for them to do it.

But at the same time, I wouldn't say Chelsea

when I was just like blowing Manchester United

out of the water in this game.

They were definitely the most comfortable.

They were definitely most confident.

They weren't blowing anyone out of proportion.

Yeah, so for Chelsea, like winning this,

like you said, is a bare minimum.

But it was also a way of trying to show people

we can deal with this crisis.

Like yes, we are in crisis,

but we are actively trying to work through it.

And that's kind of what you saw.

But at the same time, you know,

there was the absence of Katmikario,

which continues to sort of raise eyebrows and questions

around what's going on there.

You've got me trials who still hasn't played in a long time.

And there's a lot of uncertainty

around why she's not in the squad.

You still have injured players.

Google right now is just left.

Almost like what 24, 48 hours earlier.

So you still have a squad that is in transition.

It's moving.

There's a lot of different moving parts.

And so it's about convincing people

that this movement is going forward,

not backwards or sideways.

And I think winning this is maybe a step towards convincing people

that they've got something kind of in the works

that's positive, but it's still going to be a lot

to convince everyone.

Well, one of the steps in the right direction

would be the contract extension for Lauren James.

What was the reaction to that extending her time at Chelsea?

This was a huge statement from Chelsea

and from Lauren James, too.

I mean, Lauren James has had interest

from all over Europe and no wonder.

I think when Lauren James is at her best,

no one complain here.

She's absolutely phenomenal.

And there were moments, again, against Manchester United

that she, every time she got on the ball,

fans were sort of holding their breath,

wanting to see what she could do.

So for Chelsea to maintain that, hey, we are the standard.

We are where you can excel at your greatest.

We are still going to be competing in Europe

because you want to see someone like her competing in Europe.

And Chelsea still have to qualify.

It can be in Europe next season.

So for Chelsea to maintain her signature,

but also for James to say, I actually believe

in the Chelsea project, it's a huge show of faith

from both sides.

And naturally, you see her on Sunday

and that first goal is, yes, Manchester United

should have done better.

Dominic Janssen tries to, I don't know,

what she's trying to do.

You can't dither on the ball when Lauren James is on you.

And she does, and Lauren James, ultimately,

and you'll get to the better of her.

But James still has to do a lot of work.

She has to make sure she places the ball correctly.

She has my litusier running at her.

And there is just zero question.

And all of us can get that Lauren James is going to do this.

And I think if there's any other player on the ball

in that scenario, the confidence and conviction

of that happening is maybe at like 75%,

but with James, it was 100% she's going to score here.

James, at 24 years old, signed that contract extension

of keeping her with Chelsea through 2030.

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Right?

And the best part, they accept discover.

Accept discover in a little place like this?

I don't think so, Jennifer.

Oh yeah, huh.

Discover's accepted where I like to shop.

Come on, baby, get with the times.

Right, so we shouldn't get the parachute pants?

These are making a comeback.

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Taking the first domestic silverware of the season.

They are champions again in the women's league court.

It's in their DNA.

And this is what Chelsea does.

A four-league cup title.

An 18.

OK, let's transition to a little bit more

on Manchester United.

They just can't shake Chelsea defeated by them

in the FA Cup final last year.

Then in the FA Cup last 16, just a few weeks ago.

Now in this league cup final, what does United have to do

to move into that top three slash elite club category?

Good questions.

The one we asked, Mark Skitter, yesterday.

What do you say?

He said that he is working on it.

He said that it was a psychological battle at this point,

which to his credit, he'd actually never admitted that before.

And I think too, we need the full context of this.

United have lost 16 games against Chelsea.

They have been 19 in total.

They've lost 16.

They won one, and they've drawn the other two.

So this is a really torrid record for Manchester United.

And Chelsea seems to be, I mean, that's absolutely,

like Bogey team doesn't even begin to describe it.

So Mark Skitter did say, there's clearly a mental blocker.

We need to get through it.

But at the same time, you have to start to wonder,

well, why is it that some, a team like Everton can beat Chelsea?

You know, this isn't the best Chelsea team in the world.

Liverpool held them to a draw.

Manchester United have helped them to a draw in the WC.

But why is it that every time the margins

bend for Chelsea's way?

And now Mark Skitter's theory is that Chelsea know how to win.

This is part of their DNA.

And so they're able to do it.

And Manchester United need to figure out

how to do it similarly, which is a good point.

Some teams do have a mental block against one another.

There is also the other theory, which

is that Mark Skitter is a very, very good tactician

and a very, very good coach.

Maybe you need at the next step.

Like, there's something missing to the squad

is good enough, you would say, to be a Chelsea team like this.

So why is it still a recurring theme that they can't do it?

So this is the battle that we're now facing, which

is where does the answer lie?

It's probably somewhere in the middle.

But obviously, depending on which side you are,

if you're team Skitter or not, team Skitter,

you're going to fall on one side of that conversation

and that argument.

I want to go back to Chelsea for a moment

and talk about their manager in Sonia Bompastor.

There was a sweet moment in the team

had all she went up to collect her winners medal.

And she brings her kids.

And it was Mother's Day in the UK this past weekend.

So kind of a nice moment in what's

been a trying few months for her.

You mentioned the list of absences for Chelsea.

Does Bompastor deserve more credit for being able to get

this one despite everything?

I think so.

I think I was just talking about how Mark Skitter was saying

that this was a psychological warfare

and that he needs to get over this mental hurdle.

But Sonia Bombastor was really interesting.

The Kitesha Buchanan started this game for the first time

or started for Chelsea for the first time since December,

started in the back line.

And then she was replaced because she

couldn't play the full 90 minutes with Natalie Bjorn.

And Natalie Bjorn had just had him string surgery in December.

This was her first return two minutes later.

She's been taken off.

And you expect that this should be something

that Sonia Bombastor would never have expected.

Oh my gosh, I've had to take off one defender.

Now this defender's now off.

Now my back line's going to be totally screwed up.

I've got a 19 year old and Viral Bowman who

is doing superbly, by the way, but oh my gosh,

how is she supposed to be able to handle all of this?

Millie Brite's now injured.

What do I do?

And there's no sense of panic at all.

She ends up moving no skin into ripe

into the position of the right back.

And I asked her about it after the game.

So this sort of looked like a makeshift back for.

And yet it didn't feel like United

had any sort of threat on them, like what's going on there.

And she had said that she had crept for something like this.

She is so good at her preparation that she said,

what would happen if potentially I am then down

two more defenders in the same position?

Who can do it?

And she said, I actually about to put Nuskin in a ripe aquifer

in the Champions League.

I knew that she could put a shift in there.

So this is how I rearranged it.

And I think that's the difference in manager

that you're looking at here.

Is someone who is looking at what's my mitigation plan?

And then what's my mitigation plan for that mitigation plan?

And I do think Bomboster deserves credits

because a lot of times we talk about how hard it is

to be in that Chelsea dressing room.

But tactically speaking, she's very sound.

She's very smart.

I do think she deserves a bit of credit here

because she's missing quite a few players.

And even the decision to bring in Agibiber Jones

straight in for the second half

was incredibly smart from her.

So Kudos, the son of a master.

I do think she deserves more that.

Agibiber Jones getting that goal in the 77th minute.

All right, let's fast forward a little bit.

United is going to travel to Chelsea

on the final day of the WSL season.

Are we now circling that three, four times on our calendar?

Oh, yeah.

I mean, this is funny because it feels like every season

United have to play Chelsea on the final day.

I can't remember which season it was.

Those schedulers know what they're doing.

They know what they're doing.

But Chelsea have lifted the title when they've had

to be playing Manchester United.

So Manchester United have seen so much hurt

when they have had to play Chelsea.

And this is just, for me, this feels like

the final for a long for Mark Skinner

to really prove that we can match Chelsea.

And if not, then there has to be some serious questions asked

because you cannot go one for 20.

That is just, it's unfeasible.

Like you cannot possibly go one for 20 against Chelsea.

So yeah, everyone's circled that day.

It should be really exciting.

And ultimately, there's going to be probably

Champions League qualification on the line there.

So it should be really spicy.

Skinner's only win over Chelsea came in the FA Cup semi-finals

back in April of 2024.

All right, before we say goodbye, it was also a match

that saw record attendance.

There were 21,619 at the neutral site

of Ashton Gate in Bristol City.

What was your reaction to the scenes

and the vibes in there over the weekend?

It was really good.

I really enjoyed this game.

And like I had said, the League Cup has always

been this kind of question mark of,

how are we going to treat it?

Are we supposed to get excited about it?

And it was really encouraging to see this number of fans

come out and do embrace it.

And it was a really competitive, a really loud atmosphere, too.

There wasn't really an ab in cheering or songs.

You could tell people were still trying to figure out,

like, OK, what songs are we going to sing?

What are we going to sing them?

I was really impressed by the Manchester United fans

because I think it was a final five to 10 minutes.

And they were singing their hearts out

and really trying to kind of jolt their team

to do something and create something

even though they were 2-0 down.

So no, it was really good.

I think, again, it's just the latest sign

that while a lot of headlines will

show about how attendances might be down marginally speaking

over the last two years, or there wasn't

this big act of the year rose.

Progress is never linear, but there

is a very steady and strong foundation

here that they are slowly building up too.

And to have a record crowd at the League Cup

is further evidence of that, that there is strong growth here.

Love it.

Megan, as always, we are so thankful for your insights

and your perspective.

And we look forward to speaking to you next time.

And try having me.

Before we close out today's show,

I bring back in producer Theo to give us

a little roundup of the Women's Asian Cup out

in Australia and Theo.

The Asian Cup semi-finalists are also

four countries that have qualified for the World Cup.

Nice little double win, shall we say.

Yeah, definitely huge win for these teams.

And it is amazing as we continue this countdown to Brazil.

Listen, if you missed it, we did a whole show

about how the whole world will qualify

for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.

You should go listen to it.

It is in your podcast feed now.

And yes, the Women's Asian Cup is the first way

that teams can book their tickets.

And we have the first four teams.

It's very exciting.

These are official, China, Australia, South Korea,

and Japan are the first four teams to qualify

for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.

They have done it by getting to the semi-finals

of the Women's Asian Cup.

The host Australia, they sweated

with a very narrow two-one win over North Korea.

Highly recommend getting the highlights of that one.

It was an extraordinary finish,

but the Matilda's got over the line

and they will be in Brazil.

And yes, these semi-finals will take place on Tuesday

and Wednesday, China versus Australia,

South Korea, Japan to win the Continental Championship.

Of course, it wasn't all about qualification in this tournament.

And just so the listener knows,

there are two playoff places to look for grabs.

So there will be some more games that Women's Asian Cup

you back your style versus the Philippines,

Taiwan versus North Korea.

Two of those teams will snatch the last two playoff spots

for the World Cup.

So qualification is not quite done

out east in the Asian Cup,

but it has been a very exciting couple of weeks.

And yes, if you're one of those four nations,

start saving your money,

start booking your hotels,

it's getting very exciting.

It's getting real, Theo.

It's getting real.

And for those of you that didn't hear

or see it on social media,

full-time is playing a fantasy league.

Yes, we are.

You can join it.

That's right, I made a team.

I have, yes, that is a whole notary.

Have you checked your team?

No, no, because I couldn't remember out a lot again.

But join the full-time fantasy league

by heading to fantasy-nwcell.com

and using the lead code,

U-O-B-D-V-D.

Okay, so you can come play us versus.

Here's why I didn't check Theo, because.

Okay, tell me why.

I'm not that well-versed in fantasy sports,

which is shocking,

but I think maybe when you're working in it

and doing it all the time,

you don't want to really mix up reality with fantasy, right?

And you don't want to be silently rooting for people,

but deep down, this has been really fun to do.

But I spent all my,

so I did the goalkeepers and I did the defenders.

And then I got halfway through the midfield

and I was broke.

So I didn't like that.

In the fantasy budget, I should just see you.

In the fantasy budget, yeah, see this is the issue.

You have a budget to buy the players, correct?

Then I was broke and I was like,

well, now I got to pick players I wouldn't pick.

So that really threw me.

So then I had to pick some, quote, bottom to your players

to try to get some forwards.

I had to stare.

So obviously I got four points for a goal.

So that's good.

Yeah, so I haven't checked yet.

I'm saving that for like a little extra excitement

on this Monday.

I'm gonna check later.

How did you do?

I did all right.

I'm ranked sixth in the full-time podcast league.

So please join us.

Jill already gave you the code.

We'll make sure it's in the show notes

on social media.

Are you able to look at it now?

Oh, yeah, join me and tell you where you are.

Yeah.

I'm ranked sixth, which is pretty good.

And Jill, you are loading, loading, loading.

I'm afraid of scared.

Wait, what's your team name?

Jillie.

Jillie Squad.

Oh, no, it's at the bottom.

I'm scrolling down.

Okay, 33rd.

Up how many?

Oh, wow.

There's quite a lot of people signed up

of about 60 people.

So you're at mid-table.

I was really on the fence about doing

a totally ambiguous name, like to save my house.

But I helped me find you today.

But I was like, also, listen, just because I'm a host

of reporters and me and I need to be a fantasy expert.

You know, I was, the budget part really got struck me.

I'm gonna do some like, I'm gonna watch some YouTube videos

on this.

Yeah, you get one free transfer a week.

So you could switch someone out.

That might not be enough for me.

I love the budget.

This is like the closest I get to feeling like

a general manager or playing football manager.

Oh, Jill, you're gonna win.

You're gonna win the win.

Well, I'm in sixth and table.

Let's shout out, who's number one?

Let me just have a quick look at the table.

Who is number one right now after week one?

Oh, my goodness, this table's so big.

I can't even get there.

Adam Beasley, who has no hubris

and has called himself the reigning champs

is the name of his team.

Adam, send me your, um, send me your like magic note.

Top tips, Adam, top of the league, the full time league.

Yeah, we're gonna have a lot of fun playing this.

So please join us as Jill said.

I had thought there's a lot of fun to put together.

And also shout out to listen to Matt,

who actually dropped us an email a few weeks ago

about whether or not we're gonna be doing fantasy.

We're talking about fantasy and that kind of spurred us on

to do it.

So thanks Matt.

Your wish is our command.

Yeah, a lot of fun.

I had a lot of fun.

Thanks, Theo.

I had fun on this episode.

And thank you to our listeners for hanging out with us here

on full time on this very first episode of the new

NWSL season.

Tell us who put smile on your face.

I can.

I'm in it now, I'm fully in it.

And how important was the league cup trophy for Chelsea?

We'd love to hear from you.

As always, send us an email at fulltimeatheathletic.com

or shoot us at DM on Instagram or TikTok.

Did you know the athletic has partnered with Yahoo Sports

to provide free best in class coverage of women's sports?

That's right.

So go check out the women's sports hub at sports.yahoo.com

for its last women dash sports.

That's us at Far Shirt today.

My name is Jillian Sackovitz.

A big, big thanks to our producer and co-host

to Theo Lloyd Hughes.

Our video producer, Leah Griffin,

and our executive producer Emily Olsson.

This is Robert Mason, the athletic football show.

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