Chelsea are champions of England once again after The Blues twice came from behind to defeat Manchester United 4-2 at Kingsmeadow this afternoon.
The visitors twice took the lead in what was a fascinating game but Chelsea roared back as they went on to win the title thanks to some grit, determination and real quality from Sam Kerr.
Manchester United settled the better of the two sides in sunny conditions at Kingsmeadow and they took the lead after 13 minutes when Martha Thomas headed home from a long free-kick.
Erin Cuthbert rifled Chelsea level just five minutes later but there was to be another twist when Ella Toone volleyed Manchester United back into the lead on 25 minutes. The Red Devils were lively on the break, pressing high up the field and Chelsea were slightly fortunate to go into the half-time interval without a more significant deficit.
Chelsea boss Hayes made a double substitution at half-time with Ji So-yun and Beth England coming on and the game soon swung in The Blues’ favour. First, Kerr superbly volleyed her side level after the ball had deflected into her path before Pernille Harder cut the ball back for Guro Reiten to make it 3-2 from close range.
The goal of the game came from the boot of Kerr just after the hour mark. The Australian international took aim from 30 yards and impressively found the back of the Manchester United net.
Chelsea went on to win their sixth league title while defeat for Manchester United means that they miss out on qualification for the UEFA Women’s Champions League, although Manchester City won their game at Reading anyway.