Charlotte Harpur and Laia Cervello Herrero join Sophie Penney after Chelsea beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg - the Catalan side’s first loss at home in over five years. How did Chelsea pull off that defensive masterclass? What went wrong with Barcelona’s game plan? And can Chelsea do it again in the second leg?  Plus we look at the state of the Spanish league after Aitana Bonmati said nothing has changed since their World Cup win.   HOST: Sophie Penney  WITH: Charlotte Harpur and Laia Cervello Herrero  PRODUCER: Sophie Penney  EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katie Whyatt, Carl Anka and Charlotte Hapur are with Sophie Penney to react to Manchester United knocking holders Chelsea out of the FA Cup to reach the final at Wembley, and Tottenham’s extra time winner to join them. How did United start the game so fast? Is Emma Hayes’ final season unravelling? And what will Spurs do without Grace Clinton in the final?  Plus, we chat to Anne Grimes and Helen Tither about the Corinthians Ladies Football Club, who won 50 trophies in over 20 years during the FA ban on women’s football.  HOST: Sophie Penney  WITH: Katie Whyatt, Carl Anka, Charlotte Harpur, Anne Grimes and Helen Tither  PRODUCER: Sophie Penney  EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Cox and Charlotte Harpur are with Sophie Penney to talk about Rachel Daly, after she announced her retirement from international football.  Plus, what did we make of England’s performances in their first Euro 2025 qualification games? Is Lucy Bronze’s defending up to scratch? Are we expecting too much of them? And Man United offer a contract extension to manager Marc Skinner. Fresh off breaking the story, Charlotte tells us more. HOST: Sophie Penney  WITH: Charlotte Harpur and Michael Cox PRODUCER: Sophie Penney  EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Art de Roche and Jessy Parker Humphreys join Sophie Penney after Arsenal won the League Cup in a dramatic final where Chelsea manager Emma Hayes pushed Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall and Frida Leonhardsen Maanum collapsed. Thankfully Frida is now in a stable condition.  So, what’s the beef between the managers? How did Maanum’s collapse affect the players? And what won it in the end for Arsenal?  Plus, ex-England captain Steph Houghton is retiring so we chat about her skills on the pitch and her contribution to the women’s game. Host: Sophie Penney Guests: Jessy Parker Humphreys and Art de Roche  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw breaks down some of her top goals with Charlotte Harpur after breaking the Manchester City women's goalscoring record.  What was she thinking in that moment? What are her favourite moves? What’s her relationship like with her teammates like Chloe Kelly and Alex Greenwood?  And Raphael Honigstein is with Sophie Penney to digest Bayern’s massive 4-0 win over rivals Wolfsburg to all-but seal the Bundesliga title.  Host: Sophie Penney Guests: Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw, Charlotte Harpur and Raphael Honigstein Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chelsea knock Arsenal out of the title race in pursuit of their quadruple. How did Emma Hayes outthink Jonas Eidevall so emphatically? And what will happen when these two meet again in the League Cup final? Plus with two stories surrounding player-coach relationships this year already, questions have arisen about player-coach relationships and safeguarding in women's football. So when Hayes responded to include player-player relationships, that had has us asking whether the environment women's sport is enough for people to be their full self. Host: Abi Paterson Guests: Jessy Parker Humphreys, Charlotte Harpur, and Art de Roche Producers: Jay Beale and Abi Paterson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlotte Harpur and Dan Sheldon are with Sophie Penney to bring you all the behind the scenes details from The Athletic’s special report into Manchester United. How close did they come to keeping Alessia Russo? Could Mary Earps leave in the summer too? What changes will INEOS bring?  Plus Italian journalist Lucia Pirola joins us after Juventus manager Joe Montemurro stepped down. And we’ve got an NWSL preview with Meg Linehan from the USA.  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Art de Roche and Charlotte Harpur join Sophie Penney to chat about the North London derby and how Arsenal are consistently selling out the Emirates.  And in International Women’s Day week, we discuss getting more male fans into the women’s game after an Athletic survey. That’s with Katie Whyatt and Debs Dilworth, Head of the Women’s Game at the Football Supporters Association.  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Cox and Laia Cervello Herrero are with Sophie Penney after World Champions Spain won the Nations League and qualified for the Olympics for the first time ever. Can anyone stop Spain? How do they keep winning after the Rubiales kiss scandal?  As Germany take the last Olympic spot from The Netherlands, we catch up with Dutch journalist Anne-Marie Postma. And which young player stood out in England's friendlies? Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Raphael Honigstein, Michael Cox and Charlotte Harpur are with Sophie Penney after Manchester City blew the WSL title race wide open and German star Lena Oberdorf signed with her club’s biggest rivals.  Can City ruin Emma Hayes’ fairytale ending at Chelsea? Will Arsenal have a say? Do Manchester United need a change of manager? And why did Wolfsburg let Oberdorf go?  Plus everything you need to know about the news Charlotte broke on the frontrunner to replace Hayes - Sonia Bompastor. Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessy Parker Humphreys joins Sophie Penney to chat about Lyon almost slipping up to PSG in their first game under new owner Michele Kang. What went wrong for Lyon in the top of the table tie? What does the new ownership mean for the future of Lyon and the league as a whole?  Plus, Laia Cervello Herrero tells us why we need to be watching out for young Barcelona star Claudia Pina.  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Art de Roche, Chloe Morgan and Charlotte Harpur join Sophie Penney to chat about why Leah Williamson’s first start since tearing her ACL didn’t go to plan and the first WSL manager sacking of the season. How did Williamson play? How did West Ham stop Arsenal? Was it too soon for Brighton to sack Melissa Phillips? And why aren’t there more female coaches in the WSL?  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sophie Penney is joined by Charlotte Harpur and Felipe Cardenas for a special bonus transfer deadline episode to bring you everything you need to know about Chelsea’s new world record signing Mayra Ramirez.  What’s her style of play? How will she fit into the Chelsea front line? Why did Chelsea pay a world record fee? And what has the reaction been like in Colombia?  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"It's like Glastonbury, there's a festival feeling." Sophie Penney is with Chloe Morgan and Jessy Parker Humphreys to react to the comments from Nikki Doucet, the CEO set to take over the women’s professional game in England. What atmosphere do we want at women’s games? Is there enough focus on the football? Should we consider scrapping the 3pm blackout for the women's game to engage more fans?  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Saturday, David Ornstein broke the news that Manchester City’s Omar Berrada is moving to the red side of the city, succeeding Richard Arnold as CEO. With INEOS recently purchasing 25 per cent of Manchester United in exchange for sporting control, what will these changes mean for the women’s team? The Athletic’s Laura Williamson and Charlotte Harpur join Abi Paterson to answer this very question.  Produced by Abi Paterson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It took little over a week into 2024 before we were hit with our first ACL injury of the year. Sam Kerr joins the list of top women’s footballers Alexia Putellas, Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead to have succumbed to this devastating injury. So what does this mean for Kerr, Chelsea, and why do we not seem to be any further down the line to avoiding these situations? The Athletic's Chloe Morgan and Jessy Parker Humphreys join Abi Paterson to answer these very questions. Produced by Abi Paterson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Cox, Charlotte Harpur, Chloe Morgan look at what 2024 will bring with Sophie Penney. What will the WSL look like without Emma Hayes? And under new ownership? And what can we expect from the Olympics?  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Cox, Charlotte Harpur, Chloe Morgan and a host of other Athletic reporters share their moments of 2023 with Sophie Penney. In a year where Spain won the World Cup, Emma Hayes announced she’s leaving Chelsea for the U.S. Women’s National Team and many players protested for better conditions - what stood out?  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Come behind the scenes at Tottenham Hotspur with Charlie Eccleshare, Charlotte Harpur and Sophie Penney, after Spurs' first ever North London Derby win. What do the half time talks sound like? What’s the new manager Robert Vilahamn like? What role does goalscorer Martha Thomas play off the pitch? Plus, Chloe Morgan discusses the online abuse that Chelsea’s Lauren James has been receiving.  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Art de Roche and Jessy Parker Humphreys are with Sophie Penney to figure out how Arsenal and Alessia Russo annihilated Chelsea to open up the title race. What made Russo so effective? Why couldn’t Chelsea find another gear? And what does it mean for the WSL title?  Plus we figure out how Arsenal broke the WSL attendance record and what other clubs can learn from the Gunners.  Producer: Sophie Penney Executive Producer: Abi Paterson Get in touch: fte@theathletic.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices