James stars as leaders Chelsea overpower Leicester-ZoomTech News

Lauren James starred as Chelsea continued their unbeaten begin within the Girls’s Tremendous League with an entertaining victory over Leicester Metropolis at Kingsmeadow.

The 22-year-old was performed via by Sam Kerr simply three minutes later and, though her shot was saved by Janina Leitzig, the ball rebounded off Courtney Nevin to double the hosts’ benefit.

Leicester, to their credit score, didn’t panic and the bettering guests bought their reward when Jutta Rantala fired in after being picked out by Lena Petermann.

Chelsea sought to reassert themselves earlier than half-time and believed they’d finished that when Kerr supplied the of completion to Niamh Charles’ cross.

However Tierney decreased the deficit from shut vary after Aimee Palmer’s free-kick had been fantastically saved by Ann-Katrin Berger, the Chelsea stopper having escaped any punishment for fouling Petermann exterior the penalty space.

A pleasant chipped end by James earlier than the hour mark – her sixth aim of the marketing campaign – in the end put the end result past Leicester’s attain, and Agnes Beever-Jones added a fifth when the substitute headed in Eve Perisset’s cross.

Victory ensured Emma Hayes’ aspect maintained their three-point benefit over upcoming opponents Arsenal on the prime of the desk, whereas Leicester’s winless run prolonged to a sixth match.

Leicester present battle towards superior Chelsea

To say Chelsea have dominated WSL conferences with Leicester can be an understatement.

Coming into this newest encounter, Hayes’ aspect had received their 4 league matches towards the Foxes by an mixture rating of 25-0 – and the previous 4 in all competitions 30-0.

Having seen Chelsea put 5 previous Liverpool final weekend earlier than Kerr’s hat-trick helped the Blues to a 4-1 win over Paris FC within the Girls’s Champions League on Thursday, the indicators appeared ominous for the guests.

Any hopes Leicester harboured of inflicting an upset had been dented inside little greater than 4 minutes as James, stuffed with confidence following her treble within the 5-1 win over Liverpool, proved too sharp for the slow-starting Foxes.

However in contrast to earlier events, Leicester refused to break down. As a substitute, Rantala’s lifeline got here following a constructive interval for Willie Kirk’s aspect, who recovered admirably from their nightmare begin – and once more when Chelsea restored their two-goal lead.

Catherine Bott’s goalline clearance crucially prevented Charles additional extending Chelsea’s lead earlier than Tierney scored the fifth aim of an eventful first half to offer Leicester actual hope on the break.

Nevertheless, a contact of high quality from James, lifting the ball over Leitzig because the Leicester goalkeeper rushed out, allowed Chelsea to loosen up and Hayes’ aspect had few additional considerations as Beever-Jones’ late aim accomplished a seventh victory of their opening eight matches.

Chelsea’s pursuit of a fifth successive league title earlier than supervisor Hayes departs to turn out to be the brand new supervisor of the US ladies’s staff continues at title rivals Arsenal following the worldwide break.