Chelsea defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the Women’s FA Cup final on Sunday at Wembley in front of a world record crowd of 77,390 spectators.
Chelsea won the trophy for the third consecutive year thanks to a goal from Sam Kerr in the 68th minute, keeping them in the running for the league and cup double.
The final’s sold-out crowd broke the previous mark for a women’s domestic club match, which was set in 2019 when Atletico Madrid hosted Barcelona in front of 60,739 spectators.
With a game still to play, Chelsea sits second in the Women’s Super League, one point behind Manchester United. The FA Cup was won, but Emma Hayes’ team might have had a psychological edge in the last stretch of the campaign for the championship.
IT HAD TO BE HER! THE BACKFLIP 😱@samkerr1 loves a BIG goal at @wembleystadium! 💥#WomensFACup pic.twitter.com/y6Fr4cs3NC
— Adobe Women's FA Cup (@AdobeWFACup) May 14, 2023
It’s a single puzzle piece. Erin Cuthbert, a midfielder for Chelsea, remarked, “This isn’t enough. I want more. “We want to now compete for the league. Only the things that are under our control are under our control.
If Leah Galton’s goal in the first minute hadn’t been disallowed for offside as United made a strong start, the outcome would have been different. However, United was unable to capitalize, as Kerr scored the game’s winning goal after the interval, leaving the score at 0-0 at the half.
Marc Skinner, the manager of United, said, “We switch off in one moment, there’s space for Sam (Kerr) to run in to that we haven’t given her all game.” “The girls today have worked hard, and I’m proud of them. What we want to do is adopt Chelsea’s stance. We are a youthful, motivated group. To ensure that we are always challenged, I must locate the necessary parts.
Chelsea hasn’t contributed anything to the game, yet they win because they can locate that one tiny opening.
Chelsea has won three consecutive FA Cups and back-to-back league championships over the course of the last two seasons.
The expertise of her trophy-winning team, according to Hayes, made the difference.
At halftime, “we had to kick each other,” she claimed. “We understand how to stay in a game, and even if we weren’t performing at our peak, we had to figure out a way to make it right. Better ball possession was necessary before we could find some quality in the closing third.
