A week on from their dramatic final day Women’s Super League win, Chelsea Women retained their FA Cup title.
A 4-2 win over Manchester United last weekend made sure Emma Hayes’ side won their third consecutive Women’s Super League title, and looked to retain their FA Cup crown in front of a bumper Wembley crowd, as the Women’s FA Cup was hosted on the same weekend as the male instalment of the competition.
Sam Kerr scored the decisive goal in extra-time, after Hayley Raso equalised in the 89th minute for Manchester City in dramatic circumstances. Kerr, who won the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year award for her efforts this season opened the scoring for the WSL champions after 33 minutes. Â Victory ensured a fourth FA Cup win under trophy-laden boss Emma Hayes, in front of a record 49,094 fans inside Wembley Stadium, the highest in competition history.
The occasion will set the country up for the Women’s European Championships, with England hosting the tournament in July, with a number of players who impressed today will be on show in the Summer.
There have been suggestions from some football fans about the competitiveness and abilities of the WSL and their teams, but the growth in the game and wider audiences has shown just how great the Women’s game can be.
Sam Kerr has dominated this season for Chelsea, with 24 goals in 23 games for Chelsea this season, helping propel her team to a domestic double. The competitiveness of the league has also excited fans throughout the whole season, with Chelsea overcoming a poor start to secure the title ahead of Arsenal on a dramatic final day, where both teams across the day could have been crowned champions.
England host the Women’s European Championships this summer, delayed a year due to the pandemic, and go into the tournament as one of the favourites, off the back of their Arnold Clark Cup win earlier this year. Three English players impressed in the goal-scoring charts for the WSL this season; with Beth Mead, Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp all in the top-five goal scorers for the campaign.
The FA Cup final saw a record crowd for the competition, which can only bode well for the summer, and with some of the best players in Europe on display, fans in their thousands will be heading across the country for what is sure to be a tournament not to be missed.
The competition kicks off at Old Trafford on July 6 at Old Trafford, when England take on Austria.
