Chelsea extend lead at the top after Lauren James’ hat-trick stuns Liverpool

Chelsea put their midweek frustrations in Europe to one side with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Liverpool in the WSL. A hat-trick from the exceptional Lauren James and strikes from Aggie Beever-Jones and Sjoeke Nüsken saw Emma Hayes’ team seal their sixth win of the season. Jess Carter’s own goal was the sole blemish of the afternoon in front of a delighted Stamford Bridge crowd.

Chelsea returned to home comforts after their 2-2 draw against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Blues have enjoyed a brilliant start to their league campaign, coming in unbeaten and three points clear at the top.

It was Hayes’ first domestic game since the announcement that she would be taking on the head coach role of the US Women’s national team. “It’s not a decision I took lightly and it’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life,” she wrote in the official programme. “When you spend 11 years with a club as special as this, it becomes you. Chelsea is my club, and it always will be.”

The current champions’ busy schedule meant that Hayes rang the changes. Zecira Musovic, Sophie Ingle, Maren Mjelde, Ève Périsset, James and Beever-Jones came in to bring a fresh energy to proceedings. It was a special occasion in particular for Ingle as she broke the WSL all-time appearance record, the 32-year-old making her 184th appearance in her second spell with the Blues.

Liverpool have proved stern opposition for many a side so far this season, sitting fifth in the table, with Matt Beard’s side earning high praise from Hayes before the game. He made two changes from the team that had earned a draw with Tottenham last weekend, with Emma Koivisto and Shanice van de Sanden coming in.

It was the hosts, however, who started on top, working through the gears as they settled into the game. James, dancing her way through the Liverpool defence, was at the heart of everything they produced. Her link up with Niamh Charles was almost telepathic and she forced Rachael Laws into a fine early save with a curling effort. Erin Cuthbert added to the pressure when her low driven effort was deflected narrowly wide.

With just 11 minutes on the clock, the Blues found their breakthrough thanks to the magical feet of James. Ingle turned over the ball in midfield before playing a pinpoint ball out to the forward down the right. It took her one deft touch past Gemma Bonner to give her enough space to fire home.

The lead was short-lived with Liverpool hitting back straight away. Van de Sanden broke at pace, shaking off a weak challenge from Carter, before cutting into the box. Her low cross clipped the recovering Carter to send it past a helpless Musovic.

Chelsea were not put down for long, working through the processes that have been so instilled into them during Hayes’ tenure. They remained mature and patient in their buildup until they found a way. James was integral once more as she broke onto Sam Kerr’s flick before looping in a cross for Beever-Jones to head home at the far post. It was a special moment for the 20-year-old who has come through the academy system and is making her mark this season with four goals in her past four league matches.

Chelsea returned after the break not ready to let up. James added two more to cap off a player of the match performance. The first was a trademark sweetly struck effort; the second an instinctive first-time finish off a Johanna Rytting Kaneryd cross. The Blues rounded off the scoring with a little over ten minutes to play. Rytting Kaneryd again the instigator and Nüsken arriving in the box to turn home her third goal of the season.

It was emphatic in the end from a relentless Hayes’ side to move them temporarily six points clear with their rivals playing on Sunday. They extended their impressive unbeaten WSL home run to 30 matches, Stamford Bridge becoming as much a fortress as Kingsmeadow has proved to be.