We respect Manchester City but we’re even more pumped than we were last Sunday, says Chelsea ace, Kerr
GO big or go home is a mantra Sam Kerr admits she lives her life by.
And the Chelsea goal machine is targeting one more huge performance in the Blues’ battle with Manchester City for the FA Cup.
The contest final on Sunday afternoon comes seven days after a dramatic end-of-season duel between Chelsea and Man United.
One in which a raucous Kingsmeadow crowd watched Kerr volley in two spectacular efforts that helped deliver her club’s fifth WSL crown.
Goals that Stamford Bridge hero Didier Drogba hailed as more “difficult than” his own audacious strike against Everton in 2006.
Efforts Blues’ supporters will be eager to see replicated at Wembley with Emma Hayes aces targeting a second FA Cup win in five months.
Kerr, 28, said: “I do that stuff in training all the time.
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"I'm a risk-taker. Sometimes the girls (in the team) get annoyed at me and sometimes it looks good, but it's just who I am.
“I feel like I am who I am on the field and off the field. I’m the same person.
“I'm very stubborn. So, there was no doubt in my mind that I was just hitting that ball once it came off my chest
"And that's what I mean when I say I'm a risk-taker.
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“I probably do things that sometimes get me in trouble or make me look bad. But I live on the edge, my whole life is lived on the edge.”
Before Chelsea’s first Champions League final appearance last year, Kerr, who has netted 42 times in 46 Blues appearances, reflected on the team being seen as ‘mentality monsters’.
That strength of mind will be needed against Gareth Taylor’s high-scoring Citizens who have bagged 17 goals in their past three games.
The Manchester giants have triumphed in three of the last five FA Cup finals with the Blues victorious in 2018 and 2021.
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Kerr added: “We respect City a lot but we're even more pumped than we were (last Sunday).
“We have, probably for me, the best mentality in the league.
"We were chasing (the title) this year and then once we got ahead no one was going to get it off us.
“We went down to 10 players in that game against Tottenham.
"But in our changing room, it was just calmness, no one was stressed. I've never been a part of a team like this.
“We've got lots of confidence, but we want to win a trophy, whenever there's a trophy on the line.
"To win two trophies in two weekends would be amazing.”
On Sunday the WSL champs are likely to be without the services of Fran Kirby.
Last month the Kingsmeadow star was ruled out of action for health reasons for the foreseeable future.
The England forward, who formed a dangerous attacking partnership with Kerr, netted three times in Chelsea’s Conti and FA Cup triumphs last year.
And Kerr insists the Blues are ready for another tough test despite the absence of last term’s PFA players’ Player of the Year.
Kerr said: “We've missed so many big players that we really haven't had time to think about it or get stuck on it.
"We've had lots of ups and downs. Everyone in the team has picked up the slack.
"We have had to just roll with the punches this year and obviously support Fran along her journey.
“Hopefully next season Fran's back out there because there's been a few games where we definitely could have used her.”
So far up to 50,000 tickets have been sold for this year's FA Cup final to be aired live on
The 50,000-plus expected crowd at Wembley will include Kerr’s mother, father, brother and two friends who have flown over from Australia.
The Matildas’ captain, who describes London as one of the coolest cities she has ever lived in, feels much more settled being able to fly back home with restrictions eased.
A win at Wembley on Sunday afternoon would round off a history-making season for the striker.
In January she became Australia’s record international scorer in January surpassing Tim Cahill’s tally of 50 goals for the country.
Kerr said: “It was nice to get it over and done with. Everyone has been talking about it for so long.
“At the end of the day, it's just a title and I hope to set records that the young girls in my (national) team eventually get to break.
"But at the moment, it's just about scoring goals.”
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