'We'll celebrate our season'
Manchester United Women captain Maya Le Tissier wants to highlight the many positives of the 2024/25 season, despite finishing on the low of an FA Cup final defeat.
A 3-0 loss at the hands of Chelsea, relinquishing the trophy the Reds won 12 months ago, was just one small part of an otherwise encouraging campaign.
Following a fifth-place WSL finish in 2023/24, a new-look United have bounced back this season, returning to the top three and securing a place in the Champions League once more. It was also a third successive FA Cup final appearance, showcasing remarkable consistency in the competition.
Talking points: Women's FA Cup final
ArticleWe assess some of the takeaways from Wembley following a difficult afternoon against Chelsea.
"We definitely underperformed [in the league] last season. Obviously, we had the FA Cup to save us," said Le Tissier, who considers that the last nine months, as a whole, have been worthy of celebration.
"This season, we performed well, got a new identity, and a spirit and a fight. That's probably the biggest win of the season. This team is amazing and I'm excited to see what we can build in the future.
"We wanted a trophy, that’s what we do as Manchester United, but next season, that will definitely be a focus for us. Securing Champions League [qualification via the WSL] is obviously massive for us and we're really excited about that."
Elisabeth Terland, top scorer with 12 goals in her first year with the club, suggested that being beaten at Wembley by Chelsea will only make United more determined to succeed.
"Finals are for winning and things didn't go our way," Teri explained. But it does something to you, losing a final, and it makes us even hungrier. These are the games we want to play. We wanted to win the game today, but we'll be back.
"Through the season, we've lost two games in the league [against Chelsea], both on set-pieces and it shows we're very close. We wanted to give them a good fight and win the game. But we're going to continue to keep building and we'll beat them one day."
Our No.19 echoed the skipper's comments when it comes to viewing the campaign positively.
"I think when we look back at it, as a squad, it's been a good season," she said.
"Obviously, it's disappointing to lose the final, which can colour the rest. But we’ve got Champions League, we were third in the league and got to an FA Cup final. I think it's a lot to build on and we want to just come back stronger next season."