May 18, 2023: Record crowd watched Chelsea beat Manchester United in the Women’s FA Cup Final. Continue reading to know more about the final match!
A world record crowd of 77,390 watched Chelsea's 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Women's FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Sam Kerr's shot in the 68th minute proved decisive as Chelsea secured the trophy for the third season in a row and remained in contention for the league and cup double.
Atletico Madrid 2019 welcomed Barcelona to a crowd of 60,739 in a sold-out final that set a new attendance record for a women's national club match.
Chelsea are second in the Women's Super League, one point behind leaders United, but still have a game to play. The win secured FA Cup qualification, but may have given Emma Hayes' side a psychological edge in the final stages of the title fight.
Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert said that it's part of the puzzle and they want more yet it's not enough. She added, "We want to go for the league now. We can only control the controllables.”
Had United gotten off to a great start and Leah Galton's first-minute goal hadn't been ruled out for offside, things might have turned out differently. However, United were 0-0 down at half-time and were unable to convert their advantage, and Kerr scored the winning goal after the break.
United manager Mark Skinner said, “We switch off in one moment, there’s space to Sam (Kerr) to run in to which we haven’t given her all game,”. Further he added,“I’m proud of the girls today, they are hungry. Their (Chelsea’s) position is what we want to take. We are a young, hungry team. I need to find the pieces to make sure we challenge all the time.”
Chelsea didn't do much in the game, but there's a reason they're the winners, they found that little gap.
Chelsea have not only won the FA Cup three times in a row, but have also won the league in the past two seasons.
Hayes said the trophy-winning team's expertise made all the difference.
"We had to kick each other at halftime," she said. "We know how to stay in the game and even if we weren't at our best, we have to find a way to change that. Control the ball better and in the last third. I had to find quality."