Chelsea have moved into pole position to win the Women's Super League, with their injured star striker Sam Kerr poised for the extraordinary feat of lifting a fifth consecutive title as English champions.
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The Blues took charge in a thrilling title race on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) as they won 1-0 at Tottenham to move ahead of Manchester City on goal difference with just one game remaining.
It could be a heartbreaker for City's Matildas Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy, as their side have an inferior goal difference of two - and they'll be looking to their great rivals Manchester United to beat Chelsea at Old Trafford in Saturday's final round of matches to flip the script.
Chelsea's visit to fifth-placed United certainly looks more daunting than City's visit to seventh-placed Aston Villa.
Yet as Chelsea's for-and-against goals record stands at 65-18 compared to their rivals' 59-14, if both teams win there will need to be a three-goal swing for City to win the crown for the first time since 2016.
"I think we have the tougher of the two games. We have to go to Old Trafford and it's a fitting finale for me, being my final game," said the Blues manager Emma Hayes, who has the chance to bow out from the club in historic fashion before she takes up the US coaching job.
Hayes hasn't forgotten how Manchester United beat her side in the Women's FA Cup semi-final in April.
"As I said to the players, if someone gives you a second chance in life, make sure you don't need a third one," Hayes added.
"We're in the position we want to be in, and we'll give it everything on Saturday no matter what."
Kerr hasn't played over the second-half of the season as she recuperates from her ACL injury but she was a significant contributor to the cause before Christmas with four goals and three assists.
Without her, goals have been harder to come by for Chelsea but Hamano's 37th-minute strike from a brilliant Guro Reiten cross was enough for the points against a Spurs side featuring second-half Australian substitute Charli Grant, who also suffered disappointment in their FA Cup final defeat by Man Utd on Sunday.
Coming to the end of her triumphant 12-year-reign, Hayes, who's always hailed Kerr as her talisman at Chelsea, smiled: "I won't swear - but I'm absolutely knackered."
Australian Associated Press
