Chelsea 5-2 Leicester: 3 standouts as James continues heater

3. Lauren James of Chelsea

Few things are guaranteed in life. Death. Taxes. LJ masterclasses. For us, that’s a pretty solid list. As Alicia Keys sang many times, “She’s just a girl and she’s on fire”. Keys sums up James’ form well. Expect she not “just a girl”. The English winger is on scorcher. The increasingly cold weather in the UK has not played any part in slowing her down.

It’s impossible to take your eyes off No. 10 in blue. James oozes class, playing with such composure that we forget that football is as difficult as it really is. She can chip the keeper. Slide it inside the near post. Even put it into a dangerous area where a deflection is in the cards.

Just a day after her brother was sent off in northern England, the English international amassed her sixth and seventh goal contributions in the last three contests. You can really say she picked up another hattrick given her influence on the second goal. No. 10 is a nuisance anywhere on the pitch. The only solution most of the time is to foul her.

If you just tuned into the contest, you’d assume James was a seasoned veteran who’s been through it all. She’s only 22. Even if you already knew that, its still mind-blowing. Surprisingly, according to FotMob, James did not complete a successful take-on. That didn’t matter whatsoever. Whenever she got the smallest of sniffs of the goal, the result was inevitable. No. 10 topped it all off with the patented LJ knee slide.

2. Aggie Beever-Jones

No. 33 in blue doesn’t need much time. By now, we all know that. On Sunday, Hayes gave the ex-Everton loanee Aggie Beever-Jones 16 minutes. To nobody’s surprise at Kingsmeadow, the academy graduate extended the west Londoners’ lead once again in the second half. It’s just what she does.

14 touches. Four inside City’s box. One into the net. ABJ is living proof for youngsters in the CFCW academy that if you do work hard and pay your dues, your time will come. She’s the first we’ve seen crack the code on the women’s side into the senior team. The hope is this history making run inspires more and more to follow in her footsteps.

When Eve Perisset lofted a ball into the box with just two minutes of regulation time remaining, the English youngster still had a lot of work to do. Somehow ABJ mustered both the correct amount of power and accuracy to beat Leitzig for the club’s fifth of the afternoon. The 20-year-old slide quietly between the two Leicester center backs, giving her all the space to re-direct it perfectly. She is playing far beyond her years, just like her teammate donning the No. 10 shirt.

Hayes praised her post-match:

"“She’s a very good option to have on the bench, especially when an opponent starts tiring. She’s so clinical. I think that’s eight chances all year and five goals. She’s a natural goal scorer, she really is.”"