-1 Liverpool FCW, Women’s Super League: Reaction following the game

In order to prevent making things more difficult for themselves in the Women’s Super League title race, Chelsea Women knew they couldn’t afford to let Liverpool get momentum early in the match. In order to keep the Reds with their backs to their goal, the Blues tried high lines to press and score the first goal right from kickoff.

Liverpool was starting to feel the strain, but they managed to maintain composure. Unfortunately for them, Lauren James is here.

Of course things wouldn’t stay that way in a Chelsea vs. Liverpool match. We have to figure out how to increase the difficulty level, like we did when Jess Carter scored an own goal.

The own goal might have caused Chelsea to lose confidence and ultimately stumble into a draw with a Liverpool team that appeared ready to battle to leave Stamford Bridge with just one point. But as academy products Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones would demonstrate when the former assisted the latter’s fourth goal in a row, that isn’t the Chelsea way.

Even though Chelsea had taken the lead again, they weren’t letting up against Liverpool, who had gone to the half with no shots on goal in the first forty-five minutes of the match. There was a clear sense that, up against a team that is frequently so deadly, we really can’t afford to sit back and defend a small lead.

The start of the second half was essentially a struggle between midfields for dominance of the game. Sam Kerr opened up Lauren James on the left side of the attack once our players began to control the ball better, allowing the young winger to score her second goal of the game.

Lauren really didn’t think that was sufficient, and she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way of a hat-trick. Shortly after replacing Beever-Jones, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s outstanding assist completed the feat.

Four goals was insufficient. Another excellent run and pass in the box would give Kaneryd her second assist of the game, and Lauren James would add the secondary assist!

A challenging match on paper that was made simple in practice by our team’s skill and Emma Hayes’ professional work. That’s your Chelsea.