The feeling at Stamford Bridge ahead of kick-off was that this fixture was the end of an era, with legendary captain Millie Bright, who announced her retirement last month, and Kerr saying their respective goodbyes to the Blues faithful.

Kerr's match-winning contributions have often been inevitable throughout her time at Chelsea, and she once again delivered the goods with an instinctive 34th-minute strike from inside the six-yard box to sign off with 116 goals for the club.

United made life difficult with the Blues as they pressed for an equaliser in the second half, but our defence held firm to claim victory. Bright and Kerr then had the chance to salute the crowd for one last time.

Memorable occasion

Sonia Bompastor named an unchanged line-up on this momentous day at Stamford Bridge, in which Erin Cuthbert was presented with a commemorative shirt to celebrate her 300th appearance for the Blues, and Lauren James received the Player of the Season award.

Bright led out the team for one final time and was honoured by the fans in the West Stand with a banner marking her service to the club. Kerr, meanwhile, was on the hunt for goals to make club history.

Pushing for the opener

The game started in a similar fashion to our previous encounters against the Red Devils, with Marc Skinner's side proving tough to break down. But with almost 20 minutes played, Lauren James went close with a shot that Phallon Tullis-Joyce did well to push over the bar.

Chelsea's Player of the Season was dangerous once more five minutes later, with a trademark curling effort that went just wide of the right-hand post. Ellie Carpenter then struck the inside of the woodwork with a cross-cum shot from the right-hand side.

The breakthrough

James' influence continued to grow and, shortly after the half-hour mark, she was given time to measure a cross into the Manchester United penalty area. Her ball into the area was behind Kerr, but the striker adjusted and sweetly volleyed her effort beyond Tullis-Joyce.

It was a fine finish from our No.20 – and yet another reminder that few strikers in world football possess such sharp instincts inside the penalty area. The question was whether she would be able to find the net again and sit outright in our all-time leading goalscorer list.

The Blues went in a goal ahead at the break, but almost conceded an equaliser early in the second half when Man United got round the back, and Ellen Wangerheim smashed a shot off the inside of the post. The attempt bounced back out again, and Chelsea managed to clear the danger.

Man United were gaining in confidence, but when Julia Zigiotti Olme raced through to be one-on-one with Hannah Hampton, she opted to square the ball to a team-mate rather than shoot, and the chance fizzled out.

Just after the hour mark, James flashed another effort just wide of the post, before Mevine Malard also attempted a shot from the edge of the area, which also went wide.

And after the Chelsea No.10 delivered another wonderful cross into the area, the crowd let out a gasp as Kerr fired a shot at Tullis-Joyce from a tough angle, but the referee's whistle quickly blew for offside.

Another curled effort from James forced Tullis-Joyce to save again, before she was substituted for Aggie Beever-Jones following an excellent performance. The visitors pushed to get back into the game as Dominique Janssen fired a free-kick wide and Fridolina Rolfo also saw her effort go just over.

With two minutes to go and the record in sight, Kerr found herself at the near post once more, but leaning back, her shot was always going to be high of the target.

Dramatic finish

The final minutes were eventful as Chelsea goalkeeper Hampton went down with an injury and was replaced by Livia Peng in goal.

The Reds soon tested the Swiss goalkeeper, and she did brilliantly well to push the attempt round the post and kept out a shot from a corner, even with Tullis-Joyce challenging for the ball.

Kerr was substituted to a huge standing ovation by the Stamford Bridge crowd in the final moments, replaced by Mayra Ramirez, who made her first appearance of the season following a long injury layoff.

It was fitting to conclude the season with a win as we honoured two players who have contributed so much to the Chelsea cause. We will go again next season in a new era with all Women's Super League matches to be held at the Bridge.

What it means...

Our victory at Stamford Bridge saw the Blues round off our season with a third-place finish in the Women's Super League.

The teams

Chelsea: Hampton (Peng 90+5), Carpenter, Buurman, Buchanan, Charles, Nusken (Kaptein 54), Cuthbert (c), Walsh, James, Thompson (Baltimore 90+5), Kerr (Ramirez 90+5)
Unused subs: Spencer, Rytting Kaneryd, Potter, Sarwie
Scorers: Kerr 34

Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce, Sandberg (Park h-t), George, Le Tissier (c), Toone, Malard (Terland 90+4), Rolfo, Riviere (Lundkvist 7), Zigiotti Olme (Janssen 81), Wangerheim (Schuller 82), Miyazawa
Unused subs: Rendell, Awujo, Naalsund, Turner
Booked: George 23

Referee: Melissa Burgin