The England youngster was involved in a rare moment of quality in a difficult game for Sonia Bompastor's side as they extended their lead at the top
Chelsea nearly came unstuck against a plucky Leicester City side again on Wednesday, but escaped from a difficult evening with all three points thanks to goals from Catarina Macario, Aggie Beever-Jones and Erin Cuthbert. The Foxes held the Blues to a draw in December, representing the first winless game of Sonia Bompastor's reign – with the second only coming on Sunday in a 2-2 result at Brighton, and they were a tricky opponent again in the rematch, even if the reigning Women's Super League champions managed to come away with a 3-1 win.
Macario's goal from a deflected free-kick, which wrong-footed goalkeeper Janina Leitzig in the eighth minute, was Chelsea's only shot on target in a disappointing and disjointed first half, one disrupted by a lengthy stoppage when England youngster Ruby Mace was stretchered off. A rare moment of quality doubled that lead early in the second period, as Mayra Ramirez's backheel put Beever-Jones through to finish, but it wouldn't put the game to bed as the Blues might've hoped.
Despite losing a key player in Mace, Leicester grew in confidence in the game, best evidenced by the gorgeous scooped finish that Yuka Momiki produced to halve the deficit before the hour. It was no less than the Foxes deserved, but they could not turn it into more, as Bompastor looked to her stacked bench to wrestle some of the momentum back.
Cuthbert's curling strike in the final minutes, which came just after she crashed another effort off the bar, made the scoreline flatter the Blues, who extended their lead at the top of the WSL table to eight points.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Kingsmeadow…
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Hannah Hampton (6/10):
Positioned herself well to deal with any Leicester threats, making a few comfortable saves as a result.
Lucy Bronze (5/10):
A little sloppy in possession at times and didn't always make the best decisions on the ball.
Nathalie Bjorn (5/10):
Awareness of the space she was responsible for felt lacking at times. Went off with more than half an hour to go.
Millie Bright (6/10):
Had a few sloppy moments, but generally mopped up well at the back where needed.
Niamh Charles (6/10):
Battled well in defence, winning possession back more than any other player, but found her attacking impact limited.
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Oriane Jean-Francois (6/10):
Did her job well enough, covering her defenders where needed and moving the ball around nicely. Just lacked a bit of help in a defensive sense in the midfield at times.
Maika Hamano (6/10):
After finding herself somewhat limited in her position in the first half, seemed to be pushed further forward in the second and immediately played an important role in Chelsea's second goal. Was much better from there.
Catarina Macario (6/10):
Was always looking to get on the ball and get involved, even if her end product wasn't always there. Free-kick broke the deadlock and another went close, too.
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Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (5/10):
Offered plenty of endeavour down the right, albeit without the final ball to make a difference.
Mayra Ramirez (6/10):
Couldn't really pick the ball up and run at defenders like she so often does. Produced a gorgeous backheel to put Beever-Jones through to double Chelsea's lead, however.
Aggie Beever-Jones (6/10):
Showed good movement off the ball to be an option when Chelsea got forward, with her run through to finish and make it 2-0 great evidence of that. Did lose possession in a dangerous area for Leicester's goal, though can't shoulder all that blame.
Subs & Manager
Wieke Kaptein (7/10):
Came on before the hour to add some steel to the midfield and she did exactly that, while also offering a good attacking threat.
Ashley Lawrence (6/10):
Took up the right-back role for the final half hour or so and didn't do too much wrong.
Erin Cuthbert (7/10):
Made her return from a rib injury in the final 20 minutes and her impact was significant, with a fantastic late strike one of three troubling efforts she sent towards the away goal.
Sjoeke Nusken (N/A):
A late introduction to help see the game out.
Sonia Bompastor (6/10):
Lack of any flowing passing moves felt in part due to the lack of a proper midfield deployed, with Jean-Francois sat behind two players who are essentially forwards. There was not much shape in the middle as a result and that hurt the team as a whole. Improved when changes were made, at least.