Emma Hayes believes Chelsea produced our best performance of the season to defeat Manchester United in the WSL – and says hat-trick scorer Lauren James carried out her role to 'perfection' at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were exceptional during the opening 30 minutes of the contest and established a two-goal advantage. James broke the deadlock early with a fine outside-of-the-boot finish and powered home a second after an excellent pass from Nathalie Bjorn.
Hayley Ladd pulled a goal back for United shortly before the interval and Chelsea had to absorb pressure in the second half. But, with five minutes to play, James was put through on goal by Sjoeke Nusken and coolly completed her hat-trick to seal victory.
The win, which was played out in front of 20,000 supporters at Stamford Bridge, ensured the Blues re-established our three-point advantage at the top of the Women's Super League table.
And Hayes believes her side – which was without skipper Millie Bright and vice-captain Sam Kerr due to injury – produced their standout display of the campaign to date.
‘I thought today was the best performance of the season,' said the Chelsea manager. 'It looked like the standards we’ve set, but it also was brave – and that includes the selection. I thought it was brave today and I am proud of them.
‘We were comfortable [in the first half] and, to be honest, should’ve gone in at half time three goals up. But they pulled one back when we had opportunities to clear the ball and, if you come in at 2-1, the game can change quite quickly.
'We knew they had to win the game so were going to push and they played a little bit higher. I thought sometimes we were a little careless in the deepest spaces, and sometimes over-confident.
'But we hung in during a tough moment of the game and then went on to get the third goal through Lauren late on.’
James's treble takes her tally in the WSL this season to ten goals. That is double what she achieved in the entirety of the previous campaign and further proof of the rapid development in the 22-year-old's game.
‘I was impressed with her whole performance,' said Hayes. 'I thought she carried out the game plan and her role in that to perfection.
'It changed in the second half with Mia [Fishel] coming off and I thought she did that equally well too. She showed her qualities as the number nine or as a ten, and her finishing was second to none. The quality of that is natural.’
Hayes continued: ‘I’ve never seen a player do the things Lauren does individually. If you get tight to her as a defender, she will roll you. If you drop off and think you've got her the next time she makes a move, she's so explosive [that she'll beat you].
'She can play off either foot, left or right. Often, when you play against a player, you know they’ve got a strong side, but Lauren can do it off both feet. It was a brilliant performance, and I mean from the whole team today.’