Lauren James leads the way for Chelsea Women: 3 takeaways from league win over Spurs

It was a historic Sunday for the Tottenham men, but for Rehanne Skinner and the Spurs’ women, it was the same old story against one of their London rivals. Skinner and Tottenham are no doubt thrilled to not have the Blues listed on their schedule until the 2023/24 campaign. Behind Lauren James’ dynamism, and Guro Reiten’s late goal, the Blues were able to hang on by the same margin of victory they took down Liverpool in the FA Cup last weekend. Chelsea Women got off to a quick start, going ahead via Jess Carter’s header in just the 8’ of the match.

Two Blues’ legends combined to bring Tottenham level just a few minutes later, but James’ show-stopping run propelled Chelsea Women back into the lead before the half. It was not the cleanest contest from the Blues, especially on the defensive side of things. It is now the fourth straight game where Chelsea Women has conceded at least one goal and the second consecutive that the opposition has found the back of the net more than once.

With Manchester United dropping points following a gutting draw to Everton, CFC now moves back into sole position at the top of the table on 31 points, two more than Marc Skinner’s side right behind them. The Blues’ next opposition, West Ham United helped them out even more, taking their first WSL point off of Arsenal in their history.

Two draws from the two other threats in the title fight was a gift Emma Hayes was not anticipating but will be thankful for at the end of the season. The next WSL fixture for Chelsea is not until after the February international window at the beginning of March with two cup ties on the mind of the Blues before the focus is back on what is looking to be as tight of a title race as it gets. It was not perfect, and in the WSL these days, it usually never is. Here are the takeaways from a triumph that brings the Blues’ unbeaten league-winning streak to 13 games:

3 takeaways from Chelsea Women’s win over Tottenham Women