Manchester City won’t solely focus on stopping Kerr – Taylor previews FA Cup final | OneFootball

Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that his side will not be putting all of their focus on stopping in-form striker Sam Kerr when they face Chelsea at Wembley in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup final this afternoon.

The Australian international scored two stunning goals in Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Manchester United last weekend and she has now scored four goals in her last four games.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester City boss Taylor said that while Kerr is a player in form, his side must look to contain all of Chelsea’s attacking threats.

“Sam is a very good player but if we concentrate on her too much, we are probably going to neglect one of the other good players that they have,” Taylor said.

“Emma (Hayes) has been in that role for 10 years now and has won 12 trophies and she has been really heavily supported but I think we’re not doing so bad. The Continental Cup was the second trophy that I won and there’s now an opportunity to win a third in two seasons. It shows that we are moving in the right direction.

“What I like about Sam Kerr is that she was very gracious after the Conti Cup final, she was amazing. If you can be like that as a player, understand that you will hopefully win games but occasionally not be successful….I thought the way that she handled herself was pretty spectacular.”

Manchester City defeated Chelsea 3-1 in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup final in Wimbledon back in March. The victory contributed to a 13-match winning run which continues into this afternoon’s fixture. Taylor said that Manchester City are proud of how they have ended the season.

He said “It was a game where the girls were amazing and it really put us int0 a confident place. We followed that up with consecutive wins all the way through to the final game of the season which was amazing and full credit to the players.

“We want to go and win another trophy, this is a competition that we have been successful in previously but regardless of what happens, I think we are really proud of how we finished off the season and I think that we are moving in the right direction.”

The 2021/2022 Vitality Women’s FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City kicks-off at 2.30pm.