Lauren James' fine hat-trick gave Chelsea a 3-1 victory against Manchester United in an entertaining and closely-fought encounter at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were playing their first WSL match since Sam Kerr's ACL injury, but the striker's absence seemed to be of little note as James fired home three superb goals against her former side.
Her first two came in the opening 23 minutes - the first a well-worked team goal (5) and the second after a fine ball over the top from January signing Nathalie Bjorn on her first Chelsea start (23).
But Manchester United soon began to work their way into the game and pulled a goal back through Hayley Ladd (43) at the end of the first half.
They had their chances to equalise too, but were undone by another moment of James brilliance. She burst through on goal before slotting past England team-mate Mary Earps for a third time (85), sealing Chelsea's win.
