FM26: How to win it all in a WSL save
With four major trophies on the line, how will our writer's season finish?
This is part four of our FM26 save, as The Cutback’s Max Radwan tries to win it all as a WSL side in the latest edition of Football Manager. Catch up on the rest of the series.
A big game against Manchester City was next up as we set out for revenge against Andrée Jeglertz’s team after losing in our first meeting. For a large part of the game, it looked like they would achieve a double over us until Stina Blackstenius netted a brace in the last ten minutes to secure a 2-1 victory for The Gunners.
With our title rivals Chelsea losing at Spurs, we now enjoyed a 5-point cushion at the top of the league table.
Following the March international break, I decided to rotate the squad for a trip to London City Lionesses ahead of the League Cup final three days later. The game ended 1-1, with my side dropping points for only the second time this season. Fortunately, my title rivals Chelsea also dropped points.
Three days later, I led my team out in the final at Ashton Gate, but we were unable to secure the trophy. My opponents raced into a 2-goal lead within the first forty-five minutes, before I tried to get back into the game by going all-out attack. This move backfired though with Chelsea scoring another four goals in the second half to win 6-2 and claim the silverware.
Despite the final loss, we took a big step towards clinching the Barclays WSL title with big victories over Leicester City and West Ham United putting us 11 points clear at the top of the table. This gave us the opportunity to clinch the championship against our fierce rivals, Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby. The squad got the job done in resounding style, winning 5-0.
Following the title-winning game, we headed to Germany in the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals for our second leg match against Wolfsburg. Holding a narrow 2-1 lead ahead of the match, my team scored five goals for the second straight match with the Gunners empathically booking their ticket to the semi-finals.
The semi-final draw saw us playing German opposition again against FC Bayern München. The first leg took place at the Emirates Stadium with Olivia Smith running the show claiming a goal and two assists on the night as my team were cruising to a 4-0 victory, although a Sarah Zadrazil brace halved the deficit on the night.
Having already lost at Bayern München once this season, conceding 3 goals in the process, it looked like my side would be in for a nervy night once Leah Schuller had put the Germans ahead on the day within the opening ten minutes. Eight minutes later, and Arsenal’s trip to Oslo was virtually booked with quick fire goals from Smith and Mariona restoring a four goal cushion. From here, a spot in a second consecutive Champions League final was secured with ease, with the 4-1 victory in the first leg being matched in the second, taking us to an 8-2 aggregate win.
Following the semi-final victory, we headed to Norway for the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final. Having lost 6-2 to The Blues in the League Cup final earlier the season, my team were out of revenge. Two goals within the first 15 minutes was a dream start, but things got even better just before the half-way point as Alessia Russo secured the victory with a brace and ensured Arsenal lifted the trophy for the second-straight season.
After the final in Oslo, there was the final domestic trophy to try and win as my team once again faced Chelsea in the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.
The game was a lot closer than the final just a couple weeks before with Chelsea taking the lead twice within the first twenty-two minutes, with Russo scoring Arsenal’s leveller either side of a Lauren James brace. Emily Fox scored our second equaliser of the day just before half-time, but Chelsea took the lead again when Sam Kerr scored early in the second half and it looked like they were going to take home the trophy before Frida Maanum equalised with 10 minutes to play.
Extra-time was looming with nothing separating the sides until deep into stoppage time when Chelsea defender Nathalie Bjorn diverted the ball into her own net gifting the victory and the trophy.
The high-action final marked the end of the season that saw us win three major trophies and a first league title for Arsenal since 2019. The season was defined by our playing style of high-attacking football which saw us score 180 goals across 45 matches in all competitions. Our defensive record was also impressive conceding one goal per game on average.
Russo took home the Golden Boot with 32 goals with Smith finishing second with 19 goals. The sheer firepower of my team’s attack ensured that a ‘handbrake off’ style of football is a winning strategy on Football Manager 26.
This is paid partnership with The Cutback and Football Manager.