Chelsea 3-1 Aston Villa

Aston Villa Women lost 3-1 to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

Lauren James scored a brace before Sam Kerr put the game beyond doubt for the hosts after Rachel Daly had equalised just before half-time.

Carla Ward named an unchanged XI from the one that lost 1-0 to Everton last weekend.

Ward, in fact, has named the same outfield 10 in each league game this season and has only altered the choice of goalkeeper in that time.

Anna Leat was forced into an early save from Guro Reiten as she tipped a fierce drive over the bar.

The hosts were unrelenting in pushing for an opener and they got their just rewards after 22 minutes.

Lauren James picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and unleashed a rasping, low effort that zipped past Leat and into the net.

Chelsea continued to pile on the pressure in search of a second, but Leat was on hand on two separate occasions to maintain Villa’s hopes of a recovery.

Villa saw little of the ball in comparison to their opponents, but they got themselves back on level terms just before the break.

In one of their few attacks of the half, Sarah Mayling drilled a low cross towards the six-yard area which Rachel Daly met deftly to find the back of the net.

The goal was Daly’s fifth of the season.

Despite Villa’s attempts to get back into the game, it was wrestled away from them within seconds of the restart.

Lauren James worked her way into the right-hand side of the area before slamming the ball into the roof of the net to give Chelsea the lead once again.

Villa did have chances of their own as the second half wore on, with Kenza Dali blazing over the bar the most notable of attempts.

Any aspirations of salvaging a draw were ended on 63 minutes when Kerr finished emphatically from inside the area.

Villa have lost three consecutive league games and face an important trip to Liverpool next weekend.