Women's FA Cup final storylines: Super Bunny Shaw, Glorious Alex Greenwood, Manchester City leave Brighton battered but not bruised

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The major talking points from Manchester City's comprehensive 4-0 Women's FA Cup final win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium as the WSL champions sealed a historic double.

Highlights: Man City hit FOUR past Brighton to clinch FA Cup glory

Video credit: TNT Sports

City slickers

It says a lot about the quality of City that the final score looked relatively comfortable given that they were far from their best.

The team had already spent the early part of the week celebrating their newly-acquired WSL title at the club’s end of season parade, in which the men bid farewell to Pep Guardiola, but the women welcomed the news that Khadija Shaw would remain a City player.

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If one were to suggest those celebrations might have had an impact on their first-half performance at Wembley, few may have disagreed.

Regardless, Shaw and Alex Greenwood’s double-whammy late in the first half put them in control of the game and there was no looking back as they went on to seal a historic league and cup double.

Such is their strength in depth, they were able to introduce Aoba Fujino and Vivianne Miedema to add some sheen to the victory - even if the scoreline slightly flattered them.

"I think we struggled a lot in the first half but there is something with this team, we have so many individual qualities and those are the ones who are giving us the opportunity to win the game," head coach Andree Jeglertz told TNT Sports after the game.

Brighton rocked

Make no mistake, for long spells, City had to come through a tough game to get their hands on the trophy here.

Brighton started the better side and had the new WSL champions pinned back for much of the opening exchanges, with Fran Kirby, Madison Haley and Kiko Seike in particular causing them no end of problems.

Had they been more clinical in the final third during their long spell on top, the outcome of the game could have been very different.

'There is something with this team' - Jeglertz praises City's resilience in tricky first half

Video credit: TNT Sports

Even at 2-0 down, they refused to accept the game was done and still went on the attack but ultimately wilted against the City juggernaut.

Brighton end their campaign having won 13 games in all competitions this season, their most since first becoming a WSL side in 2018-19.

Manager Dario Vidosic has The Seagulls playing an expansive, forward-thinking style and, with a few reinforcements, they could be a problem in the WSL going forwards.

Despite some good results against some of the top sides this season, this proved a game too far against a team of superior overall quality. But, putting the score to one side, there are certainly positives to take from the performance and foundations to build on.

Action areas Women's FA Cup final 2026

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Ever Green-wood

An electric start from Brighton required City to be on red alert at the back and Alex Greenwood answered the call empathically.

Up against the lively and dangerous Seike on her left flank, the England defender was pushed hard but barely put a foot wrong.

Not content with keeping the back door shut, it was the skipper’s foray forward that broke the deadlock with her cross finding the head of Shaw for the opening goal.

She then added her own with an inventive free kick before the break and was imperious in stopping Brighton from finding a way back into the game in the second half.

Few could dispute her being awarded Player of the Match.

'It is brilliant' - Delightful Greenwood free-kick doubles City's advantage against Brighton

Video credit: TNT Sports

Shaw thing

When her name was read out pre-match, the City fans greeted the announcement with a huge cheer, clearly delighted at the news this week that Shaw has committed her future to the club after speculation over a potential departure.

"It's been months," she told TNT Sports at full-time. "It's been a long couple of months. A whole lot of different emotions but I've always said that I wanted to be here.

"If I'm being honest, it's been very difficult but towards the end we got it done and I'm happy about that."

Shaw heads Man City ahead in FA Cup final

Video credit: TNT Sports

And City’s hero of the semi-final was at it again at Wembley, showing exactly why those supporters are glad – and relieved – she has chosen to commit rather than move on.

With her side on the back foot, she quite literally leapt to the occasion to head City in front against the run of play.

A goal to send a message to those fans that there is much more to come from the Jamaican next season as City look to defend their title and launch an assault on other honours, including the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Kirb your enthusiasm

It was not to be for Fran Kirby on the day.

Attempting to become just the second player in the WSL era to score in three FA Cup finals, she put in a shift up front and even had a couple of sights of goal when Brighton were on top but was ultimately unable to have the impact she would have wanted.

The 32-year-old shows little sign of letting up, however, and speaking to TNT Sports at full-time, she suggested that she wants push forward with Brighton and but this setback behind them.

"I've got a summer now to digest everything," she said. "See where everything is at and hopefully we can come into pre-season with a good spirit and will see how the summer goes."

Not her most memorable Wembley appearance, but hopefully not her last.

Ground force

Brighton hit the headlines earlier this season when it was announced that they would be building their own purpose built stadium for their women’s team.

It signals a major development in the women’s game and one surprisingly not led by one of the traditional powers in the English game.

”We felt we wanted to give respect to our women's team in the same way we give it to our men’s team,” said Brighton chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber before the match.

”We think that's a big step, not just for our club but for the game in this country. We want to inspire girls everywhere to get involved in the game and become the stars of tomorrow.”

Given the raucous and vocal support for The Seagulls at Wembley, despite coming in as underdogs, there will be very few concerns over whether they will be able to bring in enough fans to the new ground.

Those who travelled to London were in full voice, even when the game was beyond them, suggesting a loyal base and unconditional backing going forwards.

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