Chelsea complete treble with 3-0 win over Manchester United

London: Chelsea completed the treble of domestic trophies on Sunday, crushing holders Manchester United 3-0 in the women's FA Cup final, with Sandy Baltimore getting two goals and an assist to cheer the flag-waving Blues fans at Wembley.

Chelsea, who had already won the Women's Super League and League Cup, had a nervy start in front of 74,412 fans, but by halftime were fully in control.

"To achieve a treble in England, it's difficult to find the right words to describe that," coach Sonia Bompastor told the BBC.

"I want my players to really enjoy it. We worked hard all through the season. It was not easy and to achieve that, it will be part of history."

Bompastor took over the side this season from Emma Hayes, who was a hard act to follow after 12 years in charge and whose team also won the treble in the 2020-21 season.

United had an early flurry, exerting pressure in the first 15 minutes on Sunday and winning a series of corners.

But the London side grew into the game and when winger Baltimore beat goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce with a penalty just before halftime they looked full of confidence.

Norway midfielder Celin Bizet conceded the spot kick with a clumsy foul that floored Erin Cuthbert near the edge of the area.

Emotional day

Baltimore turned provider in the second half, whipping in a free kick for substitute Catarina Macario to head home in the 84th minute.

"It's a very emotional day," tearful American Macario told the BBC as teammates celebrated around her on the pitch. "It's a trophy we always wanted to win. We wanted to win a treble ... it's a special day to be at Wembley and to win means a lot."

Baltimore lashed home the third to settle the game in front of an ecstatic Chelsea end in the first minute of stoppage time.

Tullis-Joyce had kept United in the match with two fine first-half saves from Aggie Beever-Jones and bravely dropped to retrieve the ball from the feet of Lucy Bronze.

But United barely tested Hannah Hampton at the other end of the pitch.

The victory meant Sonia Bompastor's Chelsea side finished the domestic season unbeaten, having won the League Cup final against Manchester City and triumphed in the Super League for the sixth successive year, also with a win over United.

But they failed in their bid for European glory, beaten 8-2 on aggregate by Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.

New investor in the Chelsea women's team, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian and wife, tennis great Serena Williams, were in the crowd to enjoy the win and he said the side would become the best team in the world.

"Chelsea is very unique. These are the queens of global soccer and they’ve got the trophy case to prove it," he told the BBC in an interview.

"This will be a billion dollar franchise one day and I hope my dollars, my pounds, can go towards that and especially back home in America, this is going to be America’s team."