Chelsea depth, experience leads to another FA Cup triumph

LONDON — In front of a record crowd of 77,390 at Wembley Stadium, Sam Kerr’s second-half strike was enough for Chelsea to claim their fifth FA Cup title with a narrow 1-0 win over debutantes Manchester United on Sunday.

Rapid reaction

1. Chelsea’s depth proves the difference vs. United

In their first meeting this season — its own flat affair — the difference for Chelsea came from their resilience and ability to dig in, the team plugging away in Leigh before finding a stream of goals after the hour mark. At Wembley, once the initial pressure from United wore off, it became a similar stalemate story on the pitch, harking back to that encounter in November.

Unlike that match, Chelsea’s depth has improved a little with more players available to Emma Hayes as evidenced by the introduction of Pernille Harder before the hour mark. It was just the Denmark international’s third appearance since returning from a long-term hamstring injury last weekend. Not only did Harder’s introduction give Chelsea more oomph going forward — the Dane the one to tee Kerr up for the contest’s lone goal — but it came at a time when the Blues were enjoying more attacking bite.

Throughout the years, Chelsea have become masters of finding a way through to a result, and you could see it again at Wembley when they came out for the second half. They had weathered an early storm from United but they’re aware of their own credentials and the simple inevitability of themselves and their winning ways. Chelsea know — just like the rest of us do — if you feed Kerr, if you give her that one good chance, she will produce. And ultimately that was the difference in the final, Chelsea taking their chances where United failed to capitalise on theirs.

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2. Man United’s learning curve

When asked about United’s chances at Wembley earlier in the week, former assistant to ex-United manager Casey Stoney, Willie Kirk, said, “I’ve always said…