Sam Kerr gave the wrestling Chelsea the FA Cup and an inside double in the 3-2 defeat by Manchester City, which went into overtime. In front of a record 49,094 fans in the FA Cup final, the Australian striker scored the first and winner – his seventh and eighth goals in four consecutive FA Cup finals – to ensure Chelsea retain the title they won on 5 December.
Lauren Hamp equalized for City before the break, but Erin Cuthbert’s fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area gave Chelsea the lead for the second time, before a goal in the 89th minute on reserve Hailey Rasso led to the final in overtime, where Kerr attacked at a mistake by her compatriot Alana Kennedy to compete clearly and score.
There is no lost love between Manchester City and Chelsea, who exchanged blows at the top of the Women’s Super League since 2015, as only winning the Arsenal title in 2019 and second place in this term pushed the two teams out of the top two.
City manager Gareth Taylor had said there would be two teams that would “do it, do it” and he was right. There was only one yellow card in the first half, which was collected by the central defender of City Kennedy, but the matches were thick and fast, with interruptions due to the rattling of the trio of Chelsea Cuthbert, Pernill Harder and Sophie Ingle and striker City Kadija Shaw.
Although City had better chances in the first minutes, Chelsea took the lead and the indomitable central defender of England Millie Bright started the move, clearing Chelsea’s free kick from the right before hitting the ball only to the door for Kerr to steal and nod with the latter. a yard above the line that seemed destined to cross anyway.
Magdalena Erickson and Millie Bright lift the FA Cup trophy after the Chelsea victory. Photo: Michael Regan / Getty Images
There was a risk that in the next period City would be scared and Chelsea would use their spoiled booty. First, Guro Wright raised a 30-yard shot over the crossbar with Ellie Robak miles from her line, after which Harder also shot from a distance.
After overcoming this small storm of pressure from Chelsea, City returned to a draw and it was another English national who competed with his compatriot Bright for the lioness in shape this season, who made a breakthrough at the other end. Avoiding a sliding challenge from fullback Jess Carter, Hamp returned to the penalty area on the left, made a mistake Bright and sent his efforts into the net.
In added time at the end of the half, City were upset when Shaw was knocked down by central defender Aniek Nouen in the penalty area, but without a VAR and using only door technology, there was no reassessment of the incident.
Despite the rivalry between the sky blue jerseys and their opposites in royal blue, with the last five FA Cup finals won by one of the two teams, it was the first time they met in the final. Chelsea and City have faced each other eight times in the FA Cup or League Cup before this season, where they finally met in the final of each local cup.
At Plow Lane, in the final of the Continental League Cup, City overtook Emma Hayes’ team, coming down from a goal and winning 3-1 to win the first silver available of the season.
This match was almost a microcosm of the City season, with a surrender in the first half, followed by a growing fight. The resurgence of Taylor’s team, after the first third of the season was crippled by a summer of injuries, meant that on the way to this final it could be argued that City, which won a place in the Champions League and won the League Cup, was the team to won, although Chelsea lifted the WSL title last weekend. While City’s race for third place was a gallop, Chelsea’s path to the title was arduous.
Illustration: Guardian Design
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However, the momentum of crossing the border and lifting the title when exhausted and digging should not be underestimated, and it was appropriate that the greatest warrior of the Blues brought Chelsea forward for the second time, as Cuthbert hit the ribbon from the edge of the box with ferocity is typical of the Scots.
In search of an equalizer that would keep the hopes of the cup, City pressed forward and the substitute Raso, with one minute of normal time left, scored a goal worthy of her Australian compatriot in opposition. Collecting the ball of central defender Alex Greenwood from above, Rasso threw the ball down and passed past striker Anne-Catherine Berger.
In overtime, unwilling to relinquish his Chelsea hero status this season, Kerr grabbed the ball Kennedy missed and threw away during a two-on-one break with reserve Jesse Fleming beside her. Going out alone, Kerr struck a blow that deflected Greenwood’s outstretched leg and caught Roebuck, giving Chelsea the final revenge for the League Cup they had longed for.
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