Sam Kerr says she is relishing the pressure, as Chelsea’s WSL title race with Manchester United goes down to the final day.
Chelsea lead United by two points and tomorrow they visit bottom side Reading, where a win for Emma Hayes’s side will see them crowned champions.
Speaking at last night’s Football Writers’ Association awards, where she was named women’s player of the year for the second straight year, Kerr said: “I love the pressure. I love the big moment, love the big occasion.”
Testimony to those words are the fact that she scored the winner in the FA Cup final against United a fortnight ago, “I think to some people it might look easy, but every year it gets harder and harder to win the league,” said Kerr, whose side are looking to win a fourth WSL title in a row.
“Anyone that’s involved in football knows how hard it is to come back year after year and to stay at the top. So we’re doing everything to win.”
United have a much worse goal difference and scored fewer goals than the Blues, leaving themselves with a lot to do on the final day.
If Chelsea draw at Reading, United must win at Liverpool by at least six goals in order to win the title.
However, if Reading somehow pull off a miraculous victory over Hayes’ side, then a United over Liverpool by any margin would be enough to see them top the table.
Manchester City are almost certain to miss out on Champions League football again, with a fourth-placed finish all but confirmed.
Chelsea and United will be joined in the competition next season by Arsenal, who beat Chelsea in the Continental Cup final in March and have battled through an injury crisis in the second half of the season.
At the bottom, a Reading win and a Leicester defeat against Brighton would send Leicester down at the Royals’ expense.
Meanwhile, Rachel Daly was today named WSL player of the season after scoring 20 goals in her first season at Aston Villa.
