by A big sheepish smile, arms wide and low, Lauren James moved along the stands of Manchester United fans who had tempted her moments earlier. It took five minutes for Chelsea to take the lead and it was James, the former United player, who put them in front, heading straight to the corner of the away fans who naively chose to single her as they were giving a corner early. James went on to score a hat-trick which ensured a comfortable 3-1 victory in front of 20,473 fans at Stamford Bridge.
“I think she enjoyed that,” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said. “I don’t mind these things in the women’s game. You give someone a stick, you have to get it back, right?
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“I’ve never seen a player like Lauren, doing the things she does… There were a lot of incredible performances today that allowed LJ to be successful.”
Hayes is experimenting with his front line in the absence of influential forward Sam Kerr, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury during the Blues’ mid-season training camp in Morocco. Against West Ham last week in the FA Cup quarter-final, James led the line, before dropping into a more familiar No 10 role in the second half.
Chelsea came from behind to win 3-1 in extra time and James pulled the strings. Hayes described her as “instrumental” in that second half and a week later James was positioned as the No 10 for visiting United, who was given free rein to do maximum damage.
USA forward Mia Fishel started in No. 9 directly in front of her. Hayes had more tinkering, Niamh Charles handed the captain’s armband days after signing a new contract, Nathalie Björn made her debut and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton made a rare start, an option at the back ahead of the international Swedish Zecira Musovic.
“I’m not one to make safe decisions in life, even on my way out [of the club],” Hayes said. “I believe in fielding the best XI, no matter what anyone says. Based on training, based on the way the game is going. Everyone is good enough to be in the XI.
“We’ve stopped being a counter attack team. To do that you have to sacrifice experience sometimes and you won’t know how that will turn out until the end. I was determined with the club that I will continue to grow the locker room.”
James’ second goal was more direct. A superb through ball from new recruit Björn, who Hayes pointed out joined the club at the same age as ex-captain and Björn man Magda Eriksson, picked out James who was behind Hannah Blundell and fired past Mary Earps.
United were given life minutes before the end of the half, Kadeisha Buchanan’s body blocked Lucía García’s strike on the floor but Hayley Ladd leaped to slam in.
Only one goal down, United looked much stronger after the break. Chelsea’s decision to hand Sjoeke Nüsken to Fishel, the German forward and James to partner up top, also gave United a bit of breathing space in the middle.
Wherever James plays, however, she can cause problems, no matter how involved she is in dictating the pace of the game, and with Chelsea feeling the heat a bit, the England forward would seal the game with her hat- trick, powering down Maya Le. Tissier before slot down Earps. The celebration would look a little different this time, with James racing towards the Chelsea fans on the left side of the goal and high-fiving.
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A lone fan held up a “Skinner out” sign at the end, and a small pocket chanted “We want Skinner out” just shy of the final whistle. The United manager is under huge pressure if they are unable to trouble Chelsea in their last five league meetings.
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The Red Devils are now 10 points behind league leaders Chelsea and could be seven behind third-placed Manchester City by the end of the day.
“The fans are entitled to do what they want, we will never be silent, they pay their money,” Skinner said. “My job is to stay focused on what I can do with this team and that is success… we are in two cup competitions and have a 10 point gap on the league leaders to chase. I still think there are points to drop in this league.
“There’s a lot in this job that could pull you in or pull you down. This game is about opinions and it’s healthy. I have no doubt what we are going to achieve with this team. I’m not going to let it sink into my psyche.”
