Lauren James opened the scoring inside two minutes and was the instigator as we doubled our advantage moments later, when the England forward watched her effort deflect in off Leicester defender Courtney Nevin.

The visitors reduced the deficit on 25 minutes when Jutta Rantala fired home from close-range. Sam Kerr converted a Niamh Charles cross to restore our two-goal advantage, which lasted only minutes as Sam Tierney scored to bring a lively first half to a close.

James netted her second and our fourth of the afternoon 10 minutes after the restart and our improved control after the break did the rest. The two-goal never looked under threat for the final half-an-hour, and we were even able to extend it further when substitute Aggie Beever-Jones headed in late on.

Shuffling the pack

There were four changes to the team which began the 4-1 victory over Paris FC in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Thursday evening. Eve Perisset returned at right back, while Maren Mjelde and Jess Carter formed our central defensive unit.

Sophie Ingle and Erin Cuthbert rekindled their midfield partnership, while Fran Kirby came into the attack to support Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Lauren James. After her hat-trick heroics in Europe, Kerr retained both her place and the captain’s armband for the visit of Leicester.

Today’s fixture was dedicated to the Rainbow Laces campaign and also marked the seventh anniversary of the Chelsea Pride’s formation.

Leicester got the game underway on a miserably wet and chilly afternoon at Kingsmeadow, but the weather did nothing to dampen the supporters' spirits.

Five-goal first-half thriller

It took just two minutes for the Blues to break the deadlock and our opening goal came via James, who latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball before picking her spot and confidently dispatching into the bottom corner past Janina Leitzig.

Two minutes later, James played a pivotal role in doubling our lead. She raced towards goal before cutting inside onto her right foot and, despite seeing her initial shot well saved, the ball ricochet off Leicester defender Nevin and trickled into the back of the net.

After a wonderful start to proceedings, the tempo of the match slowed momentarily as Leicester looked to gain a foothold in the game. James came to within inches of bagging a brace when she chipped a delicate cross from the left by-line that dropped agonisingly wide of the far post.

Leicester pulled themselves back into the game after a well-worked attacking move on 25 minutes. Lena Petermann showed great skill to evade the challenge of Jess Carter, before playing Rantala down the left. She took a touch and fired beyond Ann-Katrin Berger to reduce the deficit.

We restored our two-goal cushion five minutes before half-time, with Kerr continuing her fine form in front of goal. Niamh Charles, who has been in scintillating form herself, fizzed an excellent driven cross for Kerr, who was waiting to guide the ball home expertly.

Our opponents were showing great resilience and scored a second goal just before half-time. Berger did brilliantly to parry away a venomous free-kick, but was left frustrated when Tierney scrambled the ball home from a few yards out, bringing a thrilling five-goal half to a close.

Magical James

Half-time gave everyone in the stadium a chance to gather themselves after a frantic opening 45 minutes, during which the Blues had been made to work by a spirited Leicester side. There were a lack of chances to report soon after the restart, but we were patiently looking for openings with some intricate football around the penalty area.

With the scoreline looking precarious, James stepped up and did what she does best with her second goal of the afternoon on 56 minutes. We won back possession high up the pitch before Kirby played an exquisite pass for James to run on to. Lauren did the rest, lifting the ball coolly over the goalkeeper to ease the nerves among the home crowd.

A triple change as we approached the final quarter of an hour saw Charles, James and Kirby make way for Ashley Lawrence, Sjoeke Nusken and Aggie Beever-Jones as we looked to freshen things up in all areas of the pitch. Game management was the order of business to protect three points that would see us remain top of the table going into the international break.

However, there was still time for Beever-Jones to continue her excellent run of form off the bench, scoring in the fifth consecutive WSL game to put the win beyond doubt. She was found by an angled ball into the box from Eve Perisset and showed great composure to guide her header down and out of the keeper's reach, clipping the inside of the post on it's way in.

What it means

Three points this afternoon means we retain our three-point advantage at the top of the league table going into the impending international break.

What’s next?

After six games across domestic and European competition this month, several of our Blues contingent are preparing to jet off to their respective corners of the globe and represent their countries during the upcoming international break.

Our next WSL fixture sees us travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal in a tantilising London derby on Sunday 10 December, with kick-off scheduled for 12.30pm (UK time) and the match has been selected for live television broadcast on the BBC.

The teams

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Berger; Perisset, Mjelde (Nouwen 86), Carter, Charles (Lawrence 73); Ingle, Cuthbert; Rytting Kaneryd, Kirby (Beever-Jones 73), James (Nusken 73); Kerr (Fleming 81)
Unused Subs: Musovic, Hampton, Fishel, Buchanan
Scorers: James 2, 56, Nevin og 4, Kerr 40, Beever-Jones 88

Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Leitzig; Bott, Thibaud (Green 75), Howard, Nevin; Tierney, Palmer (Cain 45); Whelan, Cayman, Rantala (Goodwin 75); Petermann (Siemsen 75)
Unused Subs: Kop, Robinson, Baker, Sherwood, Draper
Scorers: Rantala 25, Tierney 44
Booked: Howard 33, Petermann 47, Thibaud 75

Referee: Megan Wilson