This time last week we fell to a shock defeat at the hands of Brighton but, following a midweek win over Arsenal, there was no danger of another upset at the hands of the WSL’s bottom side as we put in a professional performance to ease our way to victory.

After a dominant opening in which we could have scored four or five times inside the first 10 minutes, the lead duly arrived courtesy of a flicked header from Fran Kirby, who got the faintest of touches to Maren Mjelde’s inswinging corner.

Although Bristol City briefly held their own, the floodgates opened when we netted four times in a 25-minute spell either side of half-time.

Pernille Harder made it 2-0 with a thumping near-post finish and our lead going into the interval extended to three when Kirby netted her second of the afternoon, curling home a wonderful effort into the far corner.

Bethany England was the creator of that goal and also our fourth, as she crossed for Sam Kerr to power a header past Sophie Baggaley from close range.

Finally, having teed up two herself, our No9 was presented with the simplest of chance at the back stick, courtesy of a peach of a ball in by Harder, and by this stage it was hard to argue against the scoreline of an utterly dominant Blues performance.

It’s hard not to sympathise with WSL defences up and down the country this season, as we boast a strikeforce comprising four players who are already in double figures for goals this term. Kirby leads the way with 14, followed by Harder and Kerr on 12 and then England with 10.

We’ll obviously be hoping for more of the same when we meet Bristol City again in a month’s time, when Vicarage Road plays host to the Continental League Cup final with the Blues one game away from retaining the trophy we won for the first time last season. The aggregate score from our two WSL games this term has Chelsea 14-0 up.

Before then, however, the domestic game pauses for an international break and we’re not in action again until March.

Following Wednesday night’s win over Arsenal, and with no more fixtures scheduled for this month, Hayes largely kept faith with the same starting XI, opting only to bring in England in place of Melanie Leupolz, who had hobbled off late on in midweek.

Ann-Katrin Berger started in goal, behind Mjelde – who recently became the 10th member of our squad to reach 100 appearances for the club – Millie Bright, Magdalena Eriksson and Jonna Andersson. Sophie Ingle was the deepest of our midfielders, as Kirby, Harder and Ji So-Yun all interchanged at will. England and Kerr were the two strikers hoping to benefit from this embarrassment of creative riches.

It was almost a dream start for the Blues, as we immediately cut through the Bristol City defence thanks to an immaculate through-ball by Ji, which sent Kerr into space down the left. The Australian’s pull-back was perfectly weighted for Harder to meet on the run, but Baggaley made an exceptional stop to deny her a seventh goal from her last six matches in all competitions.

The Bristol City keeper was on hand to make two more saves inside the first five minutes, including one to deny Andersson her first of the season, although the biggest let-off for the home side came shortly after, when Kerr headed wide from an inviting cross by Ji. Had it been 4-0 at this stage, there could have been no complaints, but somehow the scores remained level.

That wasn’t the case for much longer, however, as we made the breakthrough with a goal in the 14th minute from our prolific No14. Ironically, Bristol were enjoying their first spell in Chelsea territory when we broke to win a corner. Mjelde’s inswinger from the left was a wicked delivery, and all it took was the slightest of touches off Kirby’s head to beat Baggaley and give us a deserved lead.

Considering their place at the bottom of the table and the hammering they took at Kingsmeadow earlier this season, the home side deserve plenty of credit for steadying the ship over the next 10 minutes or so, although their resolve didn’t last much longer.

A perfectly timed challenge by Ingle denied Bristol the chance to clear the lines and, in the process, sent Harder through to smash an unstoppable strike past Baggaley at the near post. It was a wonderful finish from a forward who is living up to her billing as one of the world’s best players.

Having scored in the 14th minute, Kirby added another in the 40th, as we put the result out of sight with a brilliant goal on the counter. England was the provider, getting to the ball first after Baggaley had palmed away a cross-shot from Kerr, and she quickly laid it off for Kirby to curl home an unstoppable effort into the far corner, making it 3-0 to the Blues.

Things could have been even worse for Matt Beard’s side, had Andersson’s dinked cross to the back stick been a yard lower, but instead it bounced off the top of the bar and away to safety. The half-time whistle, as the cliché goes, certainly came at a good time for Bristol City.

The second half began with a downpour in the South-West and it continued to rain goals at Twerton Park as we extended our lead 10 minutes after the break. It was as simple as they come, too, as England claimed her second assist with a cross that was met by a firm header by Kerr, who moved on to 11 WSL goals this season.

Soon it was 5-0, and this time it was England getting the goal her performance deserved. The ball in from Harder was an absolute peach, as she whipped one into the corridor of uncertainty from the right-hand side, but our No9 was certainly not tentative as she forced it home at the second attempt from close range.

Kirby thought she’d completed her hat-trick a few minutes later with a trademark goal, as she took a pass in her stride, cut inside and then curled a shot towards the far corner. This time, however, Baggaley was equal to the effort, palming it away to safety.

Alas, Super Fran’s quest for a treble came to an end with the next stoppage in play, as she made way, along with Ji, with Erin Cuthbert and Guro Reiten coming on for the final 20 minutes. Drew Spence and Jessie Fleming also came off the bench, replacing Harder and Ingle.

By this point, with the rain continuing to hammer down, it was just a case of seeing the game out. That was achieved with the minimum of fuss, meaning we’ll take a handy lead at the top of the WSL standings into the upcoming international break.We’re not in action again until Sunday 7 March, when we travel to West Ham United, but make sure you check chelseafc.com or the 5th Stand app on Tuesday to find out who our next Champions League opponents will be, with the draw for the last 16 taking place at lunchtime.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2) Berger; Mjelde, Bright, Eriksson (c), Andersson; Ingle (Spence 82); Kirby (Cuthbert 69), Harder (Fleming 82), Ji (Reiten 69); England, KerrUnused subs Telford, Blundell, CarterScorers Kirby 14, 40, Harder 36, Kerr 55, England 60

Bristol (4-1-4-1) Baggaley; Allen (Bryson 68), Skeels, Evans, Purfield; Matthews (c) (Palmer 53); Wellings, Pike, Humphrey (Bissell 74), Daniels (Harrison 74), SalmonUnused subs Haaland, Rafferty, Collis, Mastrantonio, Jones

Referee Emily Heaslip