Several chances fell our way during the first half with Guro Reiten and Fran Kirby at the heart of the best openings we created. However, we were unable to unlock the Brighton defence and went in at the break all square.

Whatever was said at half-time seemed to do the trick, though, as we came back out firing on all cylinders. It took just one minute of the second period for us to take the lead in some style, as Lauren James fired Niamh Charles' low cross into the top corner with a brilliant half-volley.

We never looked back from there. Kirby headed us 2-0 up with a close-range header from a corner, before James completed her brace with another fine half-volley, firing low past the keeper when Brighton failed to clear.

Knocking on the door

Emma Hayes made three changes to the side which began the midweek victory over Real Madrid in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Eve Perisset and Nathalie Bjorn came into the back four in place of Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan, while Lauren James returned to the starting line-up with new signing Mayra Ramirez among the substitutes.

Brighton got proceedings underway on a chilly night at the Broadfield Stadium with both sides coming into the game off the back of three consecutive victories. We came close to an opener inside the first quarter-of-an-hour when Guro Reiten rattled the crossbar before Johanna Rytting Kaneryd’s attempt on the rebound was turned behind.

An excellent piece of skill from James preceded another trademark run towards goal, she twisted and turned before curling an effort on target that was comfortably dealt with by Sophie Baggaley in the Brighton goal. Moments later, a swift move down the left saw Fran Kirby square the ball for Reiten who miscued her effort from a central position inside the box.

With half-an-hour on the clock, Reiten clipped a lovely cross towards the far post where captain Niamh Charles rose highest, but couldn’t keep her effort on target. We were enjoying plenty of possession, conjuring several chances in the process, but lacked that incisive edge when it mattered the most.

Another free-flowing attacking move from the Blues should have resulted in a goal. Charles played a well-weighted pass down the left for Reiten, the Norwegian put the ball into a dangerous area for Kirby who had made a fantastic run into the box, but fired the resulting effort over the crossbar from close range.

We continued to push for an opener as the minutes ticked down towards half-time. Two corners inside one minute of additional time at the end of the first half came to nothing, and the referee’s whistle signalled the end of the first 45 minutes where we had been in the ascendency for the most part.

Clinical Chels

Fresh from the break, the Blues made their dominance count when James opened the scoring within a minute of the restart. Charles fizzed a low ball across the box and there was James to pick out the corner with a wonderful first-time finish from just inside the box, much to the delight of the travelling supporters behind the goal.

Five minutes later, we doubled our advantage courtesy of Kirby. Her hard work paid dividends when she found herself in the right place at the right time to guide an instinctive finish into the top corner to put us two goals to the good. We could have easily come unstuck at the other end, but the woodwork came to our rescue to deny Pauline Bremer.

On 58 minutes, James bagged her brace with another superbly taken effort which gave us a commanding three-goal advantage. She allowed the ball to roll into her path before sizing up the angle and burying her effort to put the game beyond Brighton with half-an-hour to play.

With 25 minutes remaining Hayes made a double change, Aggie Beever-Jones and new signing Ramirez entering the fray to a rapture of applause from the Blues faithful. Three goals in 15 second-half minutes had given us a comfortable cushion to work from and, as it stood, we were on the brink of taking a six-point lead at the top of the table into Sunday afternoon at least.

And that is exactly how it stayed. The end of the game was perhaps a bit more open than Hayes would have liked, given her team's comfortable lead, but we saw it out to seal the victory and the clean sheet.

What it means

Three points this evening sees us extend our lead at the top of the WSL table to six points ahead of the remaining fixtures taking place on Sunday.

What is next

We conclude our UEFA Women’s Champions League Group D campaign when we take on Paris FC this Tuesday 30 January at the Stade Charlety, with kick-off at 5.45pm (UK time).

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Hampton; Perisset, Carter, Bjorn, Charles (c); Cuthbert (Ingle 79), Leupolz (Nusken 79); Rytting Kaneryd (Beever-Jones 67), James (Ramirez 67), Reiten; Kirby
Unused Subs: Musovic, Fishel, Lawrence, Mjelde, Buchanan
Scorers: James 46, 58, Kirby 50

Brighton & Hove Albion (4-3-3): Baggaley; Kullberg, Bergsvand, Thorisdottir, Pattinson; Losada (Symonds 54), Zigiotti, Pinto (Li 54); Bremer (Robinson 54), Terland (Dent 89), Sarri
Unused Subs: Startup, Loeck, Lee, Carabali, McEwen

Referee: Amy Fearn