Chelsea boss Emma Hayes sends message on 'hilarious' criticism of star striker Sam Kerr

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes is finally seeing the funny side of criticism lobbed at star striker Sam Kerr after the Australian scored two sensational second half volleys to seal the Blues’ third straight Barclays FA Women’s Super League title.

Kerr, who joined Chelsea from Chicago Red Stars in 2020, scored her 19th and 20th goals of the BFA WSL season in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over Manchester United at Kingsmeadow, pulling her six ahead of Arsenal star Vivianne Miedema.

While fans and opponents now fawn over the Golden Boot winner, Hayes recalled the days when the 2022 FWA Footballer of the Year wasn’t greeted so fondly.

"It is hilarious when you consider it," said Hayes. "But more importantly Sam often says you need to belong to play well.

"I felt personally once she stopped trying to impress everyone, because she’s a great teammate and she wanted to belong, the minute that stopped everything changed, and I think it’s not easy to do, you’ve got a lot of tension on you, and you want to fit in.

"The best have it both sides of the ball - defensively from the front, she can make it a nightmare for the opponent and once spaces open up, she can score all different types of goals including the third one today.

"Her second one was world class; it was outrageous and audacious. She's the best for a reason, and she steps up once again for this football club.

"I said come and play for Chelsea, you’ll win trophies here, and I can sit here confident that we both made the right decision, we’re both made for Chelsea and we both love days like today."

Chelsea were given a scare when twice trailing in the first half, as Manchester United were much the better of the two sides in the opening exchanges.

Martha Thomas and Ella Toone scored