And for her next trick
Lethal Lauren’s treble ramps up pressure on Skinner
TEN points separate Chelsea and Manchester United in the Women’s Super League, but the difference between the teams yesterday was a player United let slip from their grasp.
Lauren James’ hat-trick, her second at Stamford Bridge this season, strengthened Chelsea’s grip on the title race and piled the pressure on United boss Marc Skinner.
James left United in 2021 for a variety of reasons, the main one being that Chelsea win trophies. So far, United have failed to do so. They pushed the Blues for the title until the final day of last season, finishing one point behind them. It is concerning that the gap is widening again.
James put Chelsea 2-0 up inside 23 minutes, but after United pulled a goal back before half-time, they had chances to equalise. Chelsea dug in, as they so often do under Emma Hayes, before James put the result beyond doubt late on.
If Chelsea are to win a fifth successive WSL title without the injured Sam Kerr, their top scorer for the past three seasons, they will need James to step up and fill the void. Yesterday was a fine example of how good she can be.
‘Her finishing was second to none,’ Hayes said of James. ‘She’s a natural finisher. That’s her ninth goal in five games. Prior to this she’d scored nine in four seasons, so that shows the growth in her game. This was Lauren at her best.’
Some United fans have called for Skinner to be sacked and there were ‘Skinner out’ signs in the away end.
‘I have no doubt what I am going to achieve with this team,’ Skinner insisted. ‘I’m not going to let it (the criticism) drip into my psyche. We know we have to be perfect in every game. There are points to be dropped by other teams.’
James had been booed by the United fans as she went to take a corner in the third minute. Nonplussed, the forward smirked, taking it in her stride.
Two minutes later, she silenced them with the opening goal. Chelsea had too much time in United’s box as Johanna Rytting Kaneryd exchanged passes with Melanie Leupolz before threading the ball through to James, whose flicked shot deflected off Millie Turner and spun into the bottom right corner. James sauntered over to the United fans with her arms outstretched and gave them a nod.
Her second was route one. A long ball from Nathalie Bjorn sailed over the United defence and James ran through before sending a powerful strike past Mary Earps at her near post.
United had offered little and their frustrations were clear when Maya Le Tissier gave Geyse an earful for not challenging for the ball from a throw-in. That dressing-down seemed to spark the forward into life and her quick footwork created United’s goal. The Brazilian skipped past Niamh Charles and sent in a cross which was finished by Hayley Ladd.
United should have equalised early in the second half when Ella Toone was through on goal, but Ashley Lawrence made a superb last-ditch tackle. United had momentum yet wasted another chance to level when Hannah Hampton saved Ladd’s close-range shot.
There was controversy in the 75th minute when United thought they had won a penalty after Leah Galton went down under a challenge from Ashley Lawrence. Skinner erupted but referee Abigail Byrne was unmoved. Replays suggested she had made the right call.
Chelsea had been hanging on for much of the half but when the chance came for James to wrap up the game, she took it superbly. Sjoeke Nusken’s header sent James through, and she outpaced Le Tissier and slotted past Earps.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Hampton 7; Lawrence 7, Buchanan 6.5 (Carter 77min, 6) Bjorn 7, Charles 6.5; Leupolz 7, Cuthbert 7.5; Kaneryd 7.5, JAMES 9 (Kirby 88), Reiten 6, Fishel 6 (Nusken 54, 6.5). Scorer: James 5, 23, 85. Manager: Emma Hayes 8. MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): ): Earps 5; Riviere 5, Le Tissier 6, Turner 6, Blundell 5 (Evans 90+5); Ladd 6.5 (Naalsund 69, 6), Zelem 5; Garcia 6 (Parris 69, 6) Toone 6 (Williams 81), Galton 6; Geyse 6.5. Booked: Ladd, Parris. Scorer: Ladd 43. Manager: Marc Skinner 5. Referee: Abigail Byrne 7. Attendance: 20,473.