CHESLEA EDGE UNITED IN CLOSE CONTEST

Sam Kerr’s 21st goal of the season in all competitions was the nail in the coffin for the travelling Mancunians as Chelsea stormed to a third consecutive FA Cup trophy. An astonishing 77,390 spectators were present inside the prestigious Wembley Stadium, draped in either red or blue, ready to watch an enticing clash between two of the Women’s Super League’s (WSL) most enthralling sides to watch.

Amid various rail strikes disrupting a very pleasant, warm day in the capital, a close-to-capacity Wembley was host to numerous broken records as Emma Hayes’ Chelsea side completed the three-ina-row of FA Cup trophies, making this tournament one of their own. The Blues won the competition in 2021 after a three-year recess, beating Arsenal 3-0 convincingly, with Sam Kerr the hero. It was the Australian star again, pitching in with another brace to fend off a well-managed Manchester City side by a narrow 3-2 scoreline.

Chelsea came into the game as favourites, a star-studded lineup that had battled hard but dropped out of the UWCL with a loss to eventual champions Barcelona. Manchester United bared the unstoppable duo of Ella Toone and Alessia Russo, who have become the main stars to watch in Manchester but also on the international stage for the Lionesses.

Marc Skinner’s United side started the game on the front foot, forcing the Blues into immediate mistakes with a high-press initiating from the frontline. Within 30 seconds, Russo located Toone, who spun away intelligently from her marker creating space to find Leah Galton who slotted cooly past Ann-Katrin Berger in between the sticks for Chelsea.

The goal was quickly flagged for offside but was a warning sign to Hayes’ team that United weren’t messing around.

You wouldn’t have been able to tell that Manchester United have never been in a major cup final, let alone beat Chelsea under current manager Marc Skinner. They were backed by a sea of red in the stands, their press was inch-perfect and they were able to counter Hayes’ tactics, edging them as slight favourites entering the interval.

However, just as the Red Devils started to gain momentum, there was only one player that could come to spoil the party. None other than Sam Kerr, on hand to place the ball beyond Mary Earps’ reach with an impeccable outside-of-the-foot finish off Pernille Harder’s low cross from the right wing.

Chelsea were then able to impressively guard their lead up until the final whistle, despite a few scares from the opposition. All in all an excellent encounter.