As Sonia Bompastor found out when we faced Manchester City on four consecutive occasions last March, playing the same opposition in back-to-back games comes with its own unique set of challenges.

Perhaps Alyssa Thompson described it best before Sunday's League Cup final when she said: 'I think it can only help us, in terms of knowing how they play and what they're going to do. Maybe they'll change, maybe we'll change. It's going to be exciting to see how both sides react.’

As noted in this previous article, Man United head coach Marc Skinner played a narrow formation when we defeated them 2-1 after extra time in the Women's FA Cup fourth round in February, and Bompastor was able to exploit them by stretching the play down the channels.

Instead of changing their approach, the Reds stuck to their guns, playing without width once more. And even with notable absences due to injuries and internationals, Chelsea took advantage of their set-up to lift the League Cup trophy on Sunday afternoon...

Width wins again

As can be seen in the average position graphic below, Bompastor deployed full-backs Sandy Baltimore and Lucy Bronze in wide areas, pushed right up towards the halfway line.

Centre-backs Veerle Buurman and Kadeisha Buchanan stayed back to combat the threat of counter-attacks, with midfielder Keira Walsh dropping deep to make a back three when needed.

Sjoeke Nusken and Erin Cuthbert battled to combat Man United's congested midfield area, the front three could spread out wide in the first half, with Thompson covering the left flank and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd getting forward down the right.

When Lauren James drifted over to the right-hand side to double up with Rytting Kaneyrd just before the 20-minute mark, she managed to isolate defender Dominique Janssen, winning the one-on-one battle and forcing the mistake to open up acres of space in the penalty area for her to score the opener.

While James stole the show for her attacking performance, she also helped out in midfield, dropping deeper when out of possession to make a three. Bompastor then switched Aggie Beever-Jones for Thompson at half-time, as we protected our lead with a more narrow formation in the final 45 minutes.

It was from this central position that the striker was able to net the second, sealing the League Cup trophy for the second consecutive season.

A magical week for LJ

With the news of LJ signing a Chelsea contract extension coming on the same day (Friday) as her brother's new deal being announced, James put in a sublime performance in Sunday's final, earning her the Player of the Match trophy for her efforts.

The Blues No. 10 fired the most shots on goal of any Chelsea player with five, led the way for shots on target (three), created the joint-most chances with Thompson (two), attempted the most crosses (five) and made the second-highest number of passes in the final third (10).

As already mentioned, James worked hard defensively too, winning the ball back on the joint-most occasions (eight) alongside Keira Walsh, and completed two tackles along the way.

Her performance was one of the biggest positives of the afternoon, and Chelsea supporters will be delighted that LJ will remain a blue for the foreseeable future.

Big game Bronze

It's well known that Lucy Bronze is somehow able to find another gear in the most pivotal matches.

Speaking at our January training camp in Portugal, she said: ‘Some people shrink. It's a fear factor, like there's the fear of losing, which I completely understand, but I think I just have the joy of the kid who loved football. I play football now because I enjoy it.

In Sunday's final, Bronze once again delivered on the big stage. She touched the ball 82 times, more than any other Chelsea player, and the heat map above shows just how much ground she managed to cover from the right-back position.

There were moments when she saved the day: risking getting hurt by putting her head in the way at the near post when Melvine Malard looked certain to score, winning two aerial duels, one tackle and one block.

Having a player like Bronze gives Chelsea the X factor when going for silverware, a player who is willing to go further than any other to win football matches.

Buurman's first taste of glory

With Millie Bright and Naomi Girma absent through injury, the Blues needed a big performance from 19-year-old Veerle Buurman in the final.

The Dutch starlet had never started a match alongside the returning Kadeisha Buchanan, but the pair made it look like they were established centre-back partners as together they neutralised Man United's attacking threats.

As the graphic shows, Buurman showed incredible poise on the ball as she completed 94 per cent of her 36 passing attempts, helping to secure the clean sheet with three aerial duels, two tackles and winning the ball back on two occasions.

With Buchanan now back and Buurman continuing to grow in confidence, as well as Bright and Girma soon ready to return, Bompastor has plenty of quality to choose from as we chase more trophies over the coming months.