Lauren James’s Chelsea masterclass: takeaways from Villa win

Just before the Blues have their shot at the current co-league-leaders, Chelsea returned to Kingsmeadow to take on an ambitious Aston Villa side in the Women’s Super League. Behind two show-stopping goals by Lauren James, the Blues outlasted Carla Ward and the Villains by two goals with Emma Hayes watching from the stands. Even with the short turnaround, the rotation throughout the last few matches was the catalyst for another positive result in league play.

Although the clean sheet run came to a close after Rachel Daly’s goal just before the half, Chelsea found a way to counter-punch following a response from the opposition. It was the second time in the last five matches that the Blues reacted swiftly to an equalizer. From the memorable celebrations from James and Sam Kerr to how dangerous the west Londoners were from the flanks, this match demonstrated the team’s mood and the consistent quality it has shown all season finding the end of crosses.

Following the match, general manager Paul Green spoke on James’ quality, and her ability to be a different maker

"“I thought she took her two goals really well…Showed her quality with either foot, left foot finish for the first, right foot finish for the second. She’s developing all the time. There is still room for improvement in her game but we’ve been really delighted with the way she’s started the season and we’re looking forward to that continuing. We have a good momentum, a good energy about our performances at the moment, and we got to try to carry that with us next weekend going up to Manchester United, who have had a terrific start of their own to the season.”"

The chemistry of the four main attackers for the Blues created all three goal-scoring chances. James was able to take the entire mid-week match off while Johanna Rytting Kaneryd filled in on the right flank. The depth and strength of this team are far greater than it possessed last season, and if the squad’s health can stay the way it is, it will take a special performance by the opposition to muster out a result.