Chelsea gave their fans plenty to smile about over the weekend, as the Blues cruised to a 3-1 win over Manchester United to maintain their narrow lead at the top of the table.
Lauren James was arguably the standout performer for Emma Hayes's team. The English international netted a a hat-trick - her second of this season - to fire her team to all three points. That brings her to ten goals in 10 WSL appearances, and in doing so, has helped her to achieve a pretty impressive feat.
First, her hat-trick, especially against Manchester United, is something that no player in the WSL had done before...until this past weekend, as this stat shows:
1 - Lauren James has become the first player to score a @BarclaysWSL hat-trick against Manchester United. James has nine goals in her last five WSL appearances, as many as her previous 40 beforehand. Exceptional. pic.twitter.com/BNIhbFhRhj
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 21, 2024
And second, James has now scored more goals than any other player at Stamford Bridge this season. Yes, that includes the men's team, who continue to struggle for positive results despite having a new face, Mauricio Pochettino, on the tactician's bench.
So, while the men's team battle through some turbulent waters at the moment, it is not all doom and gloom for Chelsea fans, as it appears to be pretty much smooth sailing for the women's team who are in contention for several titles this term.
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