Emma Hayes wanted to finish the year with “a cracker for Christmas”, and the talismanic Sam Kerr and the young England star Lauren James provided the bang in a 3-0 defeat of Paris Saint-Germain that sent Chelsea into the Champions League quarter-finals as winners of Group A. Kerr popped up at the end of the first half to power Chelsea in front from her weaker left foot before James scored twice in the second period, giving the Blues top spot in a group that also contained Real Madrid and the Albanian side Vllaznia. “That was my favourite performance this season, for 75 minutes,” said Hayes. “It was the performance I wanted, it’s the performance I’ve seen in training particularly this week, mostly it’s given the team confidence. It was certainly a satisfying performance.” Chelsea did not need a win to top Group A – avoiding a two-goal deficit would have been enough – but their captain, Magda Eriksson, had said they didn’t “want to just settle for going through. We want to finish top and make another statement.” In the reverse fixture in Paris a goal from Millie Bright proved the difference. Prior to that, Chelsea and PSG had met on two other occasions in the Champions League: both sides won at home in the 2018-19 quarter-finals, with the Blues progressing on aggregate. Hayes made four changes to the side that beat Vllaznia 4-0 last week. Bright, James, Eriksson and Erin Cuthbert all returned to the starting XI in place of Aniek Nouwen, Ève Périsset, Jessie Fleming and Jelena Cankovic. The first half was perhaps cagier than either manager would have liked. PSG’s Gérard Prêcheur had promised “full-on attack”, yet the opening 45 minutes yielded only two shots on target. Despite that, PSG are quality opposition. They lead Ligue 1 having recently beaten the dominant force of French and European football, Lyon – the Champions League holders and eight-time winners. And they did deliver the first meaningful effort on goal here, with Kadidiatou Diani seizing a loose ball muscled from the feet of James before cracking a shot off the crossbar from 40 yards out. James, in reply, would provide the home team’s best play, forcing three fine saves from the PSG goalkeeper, Sarah Bouhaddi, in the space of 15 minutes. The first was blocked by the keeper, the second was pushed wide of her left-hand post and the third was tipped wide at full stretch. It needed a moment of magic from the influential Kerr, who usually pops up when Chelsea need her, to break the deadlock. Sophie Ingle, who has been a rock for the Blues in a deep-lying midfield role this season, powered a header forward. PSG’s Sakina Karchaoui was there but failed to gain control of the ball and Kerr collected, cut around Élisa de Almeida and fired into the top corner in style on the stroke of half-time. “For the first 30-35 mins as a group, our effort, we probably did deserve to maybe go ahead,” said Prêcheur. “We managed to create problems for Chelsea and give them a few doubts. We paid a penalty for the extra physical effort, that’s when Chelsea just came into the game and grabbed their opportunity. Then we found it hard. Football is a cruel game and Chelsea don’t let you off in those situations.” The Stamford Bridge crowd – which, at 10,129, was far smaller than the one that welcomed the women’s team to the main stadium for the visit of Tottenham a month ago – roared into life at the goal, delivering an atmosphere worthy of the tie. Within 10 minutes of the restart James scored her first Champions League goal. A poor pass out from Bouhaddi was poked towards Fran Kirby by James. She took two touches to play it to Kerr, who sent it straight back to the England forward to pop past the hapless goalkeeper. That strike was followed by her second not long after, with Guro Reiten playing in Kirby who, at stretch, cut back for James to power in. It was fast-paced, one-touch football at its best and Eriksson’s hopes of a statement performance were being met. “I think you’ve seen Lauren in and around the penalty box is exceptional,” said Hayes. “We have to be mindful there’s so much in her game to keep developing; tracking full-backs, getting back in defensive positions early, linking up with fewer touches. “The team put Lauren in the best position possible tonight and she executed. I took her out [substitute] because I’m mindful of her age and the stage, I thought she looked a little lethargic. The talent is there for everyone to see but we have to go one step at a time.” Both Chelsea and Arsenal will go into the quarter-final draw that is being held on 10 February. Sides from the same country are unable to meet each other, though they restart the season against each other in the WSL on 15 January. Chelsea will play one of Roma, Lyon or Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, while Arsenal will face either Roma, PSG or Bayern Munich. The first legs will be held on 21-22 March and the second on 29-30 March.