The Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr final will undoubtedly be remembered for years to come. After the strike partnership tormented Arsenal in front of 40,942 fans at Wembley to secure Chelsea's third Women's FA Cup and complete a domestic triple for the 2020-21 season, manager Emma Hayes dubbed Kirby a "national treasure" and Kerr "the best striker in the world."
Chelsea had a chance to defeat the league leaders by five or six goals. Instead, it was a 3-0 victory after England's Kirby put Chelsea ahead in the third minute of a first half that Chelsea dominated, before Australia's Kerr scored a low strike after the break and then added her second with a masterful lob in the closing stages, capping off a memorable performance.
Kerr, who won the Golden Boot last season, has nine goals and three league assists this season, compared to Kirby's six goals and five assists, and their superb movement stole the show. It was difficult to understand how Chelsea was only 1-0 up at halftime. Only Manuela Zinsberger's reflexes and the breadth of the woodwork kept Arsenal in the game.
The opening goal came as a result of Chelsea's early pressure on Arsenal's Norway midfielder Frida Maanum, who was forced to give up possession, allowing Kirby to gallop through the heart of Arsenal's defense and gently tuck the ball home.
Chelsea had a chance to increase their advantage following a Lia Walti error, but Kerr - who appeared to be pushed in the back by centre-back Jen Beattie - saw her close-range effort stopped by Zinsberger after Kirby's through ball. In another action in which Beattie appeared to foul Kerr but no penalty was given, the Arsenal goalkeeper palmed a Kirby shot onto the post. VAR wasn't utilized in the competition, therefore Beattie of Scotland got lucky.
Kerr also hit the crossbar, missing a good opportunity, but she made up for it after the break, latching on to a ball down the left flank from Kirby and beating Zinsberger with a powerful near-post finish. With a precise chip 13 minutes from time, she delivered a magnificent third goal that will be replayed again and over. Kirby had blasted a shot from distance onto the post in between those strikes. Both players received standing ovations when they were substituted late in the game.
The third goal exemplified Kerr's legendary performance, and Hayes praised her efforts, adding, "So many doubted how she would handle in the English game." She is, in my opinion, the best striker in the world, and she proved it today when it counted most.
After the match, Chelsea WFC manager, and star player Fran Kirby remarked:
Emma Hayes: “I’m extremely proud of everyone in our organisation. Our performance was out of this world today. we were dominant from start to finish. I was upset we weren’t up by more than one at half-time but it was convincing in the end. That’s the best performance I’ve seen from Fran [Kirby], she ran the show. The midfield was set up to do a job and allow Fran and Sam [Kerr] to go and play. It’s nice to paint Wembley blue tonight. It’s a Chelsea day. The fans deserve that. Winning the treble is an amazing achievement and I will sit down and enjoy that this evening. Women’s football was banned 100 years ago. I said to the girls before the game: today we play for everyone who’s made the women’s game what it is. Women’s football is out livelihood but it’s also our passion and today that win was for every woman who’s been involved in women’s football in this country.â€
Fran Kirby: “It’s amazing. We worked so hard after the international break so make sure we got it tactically right. Second half we sat off a little bit more but I think we blew them away first half especially. My goal settled our nerves a little bit. When you’re through on goal its a stressful situation but I managed to stay composed and put it in but it was a magnificent performance from everyone - keeping a clean sheet in the final is amazing. Overall I think we deserved to win and could have cored a few more goals. It’s a massive day for women’s football. Today was about not forgetting the trailblazers who helped us get here. Hopefully the performance today made everyone proud and hopefully more people want to get involved in women’s football.â€