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Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday to claim a third straight Women’s FA Cup title in front of a record crowd at Wembley Stadium, as Australian forward Sam Kerr‘s strike again proved to be the difference.
Kerr, who also scored the winner in last season’s final, turned in substitute Pernille Harder‘s fine cross in the 68th minute to decide a tight game in front of 77,390 fans — a world record attendance for a domestic women’s match.
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“We didn’t have a great game today, but it’s the sign of a great team that we pushed on,” Kerr said.
United dominated possession and created numerous opportunities in the first half, but could not find a breakthrough as Chelsea struggled to match the Women’s Super League (WSL) leaders.
Leah Galton had a goal ruled out in the first minute for offside, while both goalkeepers, Ann-Katrin Berger and Mary Earps, made an excellent saves as the teams went into the break level.
United were quickly made to rue their wasted chances after the restart, as Chelsea grew into the game and broke the deadlock through Kerr. The goal took the wind out of United’s sails and Chelsea were able to contain them as they held on to lift the trophy for a fifth time.
The teams will now shift their rivalry back to the WSL, where defending champions Chelsea are second in the standings with 49 points from 19 games, one point behind United who have played a game more.