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Women’s Super League managers have criticised the “unfair” format of the League Cup after Chelsea and Arsenal reached the final.
Teams in the Champions League group stage skip the League Cup groups and enter at the quarter-finals.
Chelsea and Arsenal reached the final having played two games, while beaten semi-finalists West Ham and Manchester City played five and six fixtures.
Liverpool boss Matt Beard said: “They should be in all of it or not at all.”
Beard believes the women’s League Cup compares unfavourably to the men’s, where teams in European competition enter in round three.
In order to lift the trophy they must play six games, including a two-leg semi-final and the final – double the number Arsenal and Chelsea will play in the 2022-23 competition.
“The format isn’t fair. Chelsea and Arsenal play two games and they are in another final,” Beard said. “They have big squads now, 25 players and can utilise their academy.”
The format of the women’s League Cup – which features the 24 teams from the Women’s Super League and Championship – has changed over time, with a group stage since 2017-18.
However, the rule to allow clubs which qualified for the Champions League group stage to skip the first round was introduced last season.
Aston Villa manager Carla Ward called for a review of the competition’s structure before the 2023-24 season.
She said: “To put it politely… a competition should be one that everyone enters. Some teams play seven or eight games to get to the final, others play two.
“You would hope there would be discussions as to how it may look, but you never know.”
Despite criticism of the format, this is the first time in the League Cup’s current guise the two late entrants have reached the final.
Gareth Taylor’s Manchester City won the competition in 2021-22 after entering at the group stage, beating Chelsea – who again started in the last eight – 3-1 in the final.
Arsenal also entered at the quarter-finals last season, but were beaten 1-0 at home by Manchester United.
Taylor, whose side lost 1-0 at Arsenal on Wednesday after extra time, said it was easy to criticise with hindsight.
“It was the same last season. The rules are the rules, whatever the format is,” he said.
“After the event it’s hard to revisit – the rules are there from outset.
“You see possibility of teams being there [in the final] after only two games, but we are aware of the rules before we start.”
