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Sam Kerr started and ended her week carrying the Australian flag.Credit:Getty

That Kerr was an unused substitute for Chelsea’s last Women’s Super League clash,against Leicester City in midweek,was an encouraging sign,but not as encouraging as it could have been.

As it turns out,there was nothing to worry about. The 29-year-old was just being rested before the game that mattered the most. To be fair,it had been a busy week,which began with her role as Australia’s flagbearer in the coronation of Charles III – and ended with the Aussie flag in her grasp,this time in celebration of her 12th career trophy in club football,after again exchanging pleasantries with Prince William as he handed it to her.

Royalty meets royalty - again - as Prince William hands Sam Kerr her FA Cup winner’s medal.Credit:Getty

Manchester United have been the dominant team in the WSL this season but have failed to beat Chelsea in three attempts across all competitions. Their hopes once more rested on their ability to keep Kerr quiet,which is a deceptively difficult challenge because – like the best strikers in the game – she can be quiet until she’s not. She needs only a single second to make the difference. Less than that,sometimes.

Inevitably,it came. Marked out of the game in the first half,the decisive passage of play unfolded in the 68th minute,when teammate Pernille Harder surged down the right flank. Kerr sensed her opportunity,ghosted into space,and was at the back post to prod home the cross. “Backflip incoming,” Kerr had texted a friend before the match. And there it was.

She grabbed the badge on her chest and hammed it up in front of a crowd of 77,390 at Wembley Stadium – the largest attendance for a women’s domestic match.

“F---ing Chelsea!” she screamed.

There isone more trophy on offer for Kerr before she switches royal blue for green and gold,and turns her attention to the biggest month of her life with the Matildas. Chelsea are second on the WSL table,one point behind United with a game in hand – perfect striking distance for their third league title in a row.

Each of her three remaining outings before the World Cup comes with the risk of injury,so it’s going to be difficult for Matildas fans to enjoy her run home without those dark thoughts in the back of the mind.

Champions,however,think differently.

“I only think about the good things,the celebration,” Kerrtold English media before the match.

“Once you start thinking negative thoughts,that’s the only way you’re going to go. I visualise scoring a goal,the celebrations,seeing my family after the game,all the things that make me play football and be a footballer.

“I love the pressure,I love the big games,I love being able to have a moment in the palm of your hands and be able to do something great.”

And there are plenty more of those waiting around the corner.

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