Anyway … thanks for joining me. Hopefully the booking shenanigans will be cleared up in due course. Here is Sophie Downey’s report from Stamford Bridge. It looks like … and my apologies for this … that the TV commentary team got it wrong and Holland was not booked initially, instead it was James but I am awaiting confirmation. Emma Hayes: “Brilliant players, brilliant people. This year there is something different in our dressing room and that’s not just because of different personnel. I trust every player and when we make chances I know they can cope. After the week we have just had – we have been travelling non-stop – that was an amazing performance. “Lauren knows what I think of her and she is someone that is still a young player. Today she showed the best of herself in both sides of the game. “It’s all about the team. I am really enjoying watching them at the moment.” Matt Beard: “Desperately disappointing but Chelsea are a top side. We cannot gift the goals we did to Chelsea today. We’ve been well and truly punished today. We should not be conceding five goals. “We let ourselves and the fans down today. Chelsea had more desire today. We cannot freeze like we did today, it’s not good enough.” Hayes is doing a lap of honour and having the time of her life. Lauren James: “Amazing [to score a hat-trick]. Even better to do it at the Bridge. With the news that Emma is leaving, I am forever thankful to her. “She told me how proud she is and what she wants to achieve this year. I’ve had a difficult week with the news [that Hayes is leaving] and just wanted to do that for her. “When I am playing with a smile and happiness, who knows what can happen?” I should probably focus on how good Lauren James is rather than being concerned by this trivial double booking. She was getting going both ways on the left; she can cut in and go on the outside and was dangerous throughout. The only explanation is that the first booking was given to someone else and the BBC got it wrong. Hmmm …. I am not fully focused on what happened with Ceri Holland. BBC said she was booked in the 64th minute and then again in injury-time. I am confused. Talk me through it Full time: Chelsea 5-1 Liverpool It was the Lauren James show as Chelsea extend their lead at the top of the table. 90+6 mins: I have watched it back and the indication is Holland was booked for talking back to the ref earlier. Should she not be off? Did the TV coverage get it wrong? 90+5 mins: Clark tackles Lawrence to give away a corner. Laws punch clear for another corner. Chelsea are now into timewasting territory. 90+2 mins: Ermmmm… Holland takes down Lawrence with a bit of a swipe and is booked. Was she not booked for moaning at the ref before? 90 mins: Eight minutes added on. Still hope for Liverpool? No, of course not. 88 mins: Gilly Flaherty gives the player of the match award to Lauren James. I am shocked, shocked I tell ye. 86 mins: Roman Haug is replaced by Lawley for Liverpool. 84 mins: Liverpool are still rattling into challenges but this game is done. 82 mins: Fleming’s first involvement is a dreadful backpass which Roman Haug latches onto but Musovic comes out quickly to put off the Liverpool forward, who barely makes contact. 81 mins: Nusken and Cuthbert off, Fleming and Kirby on. That’s a 100th WSL appearance for Kirby at Chelsea. 80 mins: Hinds pings a well-struck shot just over the bar from 30 yards. GOAL! Chelsea 5-1 Liverpool (Nusken, 78) James starts the move again by slipping a pass through for Kaneryd, who lays the ball on a plate for Nusken to tap in. 76 mins: Cuthbert pings a clearance upfield but also succeeds in whacking into the hoardings. 75 mins: Chelsea changes: Lawrence and Fishel on, Charles and Kerr off. 74 mins: Liverpool changes: Kiernan and Parry on, Van de Sanden and Koivisto off. David Wall emails: “re: Suzanne Wrack’s article below, is one of the reasons that women’s sides might struggle to fill larger stadiums because they only play a handful of matches there each season. I’d have thought the aim is to get a larger number of people into the regular match-going habit. Just as a supporter of the men’s side will arrange their social lives around going to the game every fortnight, it would be hoped the same is true for a supporter of the women’s side. But if, say, 30,000 go along to somewhere like Stamford Bridge, but only 5,000 can attend the next game at Kingsmeadow, then even if most of those 30,000 want to go to the next game, they can’t. So it becomes very difficult to build up the match-going habit. Perhaps they’d have more success attracting larger crowds if they played every game at the main stadium, accept that it won’t be at capacity to begin with, yet aim to build it through word of mouth from those who do attend regularly and become committed to going along.” 72 mins: James gets down the left and causing plenty of problems. Her cross reaches Ingle who heads for goal but Bonner is there to divert for a corner. Adam emails: “I hope you’re well! Lauren James is quite good at football, isn’t she? Not the most incisive commentary that’ll be provided about this match, but what a game she’s having.” It’s better than my offering. 70 mins: Van de Sanden is bundled over on the left flank. The resulting free-kick finds Roman Haug at the back post; she heads the ball towards the corner but Musovic produces a great save and then Perisset clears off the line. Kearns thinks the ball has gone out of play and picks it up, only to be penalised for her naivety. 68 mins: It might be 4-1 to Chelsea but the crowd do not seem particularly excited about this. All a bit flat in the stands. 66 mins: I am sure Liverpool will complain about the non-award of the penalty but it did not have much going for it, in my opinion. What they cannot complain about is the quality of James who just looks a level above everyone on the pitch. GOAL! Chelsea 4-1 Liverpool (James, hat-trick, 64) Kaneryd makes an immediate impact off the bench. She gets down the right, cuts back inside the box and then picks out the onrushing James who pings the ball in from eight yards. 62 mins: Musovic fails to claim a Van de Sanden cross and Chelsea have to accept conceding a corner to end the danger. Kearns bings it towards the back post but the goalkeeper does well to punch clear. Van de Sanden lifts a cross into the box which is cleared out to the edge where Holland is waiting. She takes a touch and goes down under pressure from Cuthbert. It looks like the Liverpool player gets a little nudge from Cuthbert but it would be soft penalty. Regardless Holland keeps complaining and gets a booking for her words. 60 mins: Laws collects a backpass on the edge of her six-yard box and decides to use a smart bit of skill to bypass an onrushing Chelsea forward. Nerves of steel from Laws. 58 mins: Chelsea will feel pretty confident of getting the job done after extending their lead. Liverpool will need to up it even more so. GOAL! Chelsea 3-1 Liverpool (James, 56) She’s been the best player on the pitch and deservedly adds to her tally. Kerr lays it off to James on the edge of the box, she takes a couple of touches and then fires across Laws into the corner. A super finish. 55 mins: Carter has the chance to clear up the line but she is hounded by Holland who wins a throw-in off the Chelsea defender. There has been a bit more energy about Liverpool since the break. They must be hoping Chelsea will tire after their midweek game against Real Madrid away on Wednesday night. 53 mins: Kerr was barely involved in the first half but has had a few opportunities to do damage already since the break. Every time the Australian receives the ball, the crowd get on their feet. 51 mins: Hinds looks to pick out Kearns who is free in space but the pass has a little too much on it and it goes ahead of the Liverpool sub, allowing Chelsea to mop up. 49 mins: Mild carnage in the Liverpool box. Kerr’s cross is deflected up in the air but Laws is completely unsure about what to do and gets nowhere near the ball and is beaten to it by Nuskens, who flicks on but Liverpool manage to scramble clear before Ingle can poke home. 47 mins: A dreadful pass from Perisset across her own box goes straight to Van de Sanden, who takes a touch and takes aim but Musovic is right behind it. A Liverpool change at the break: Kearns on for Hobinger. Second half Here we go again! Sign up for Moving the Goalposts! Half time: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool The Blues have edged it and earn the lead but Liverpool have more than held their own. James and Van de Sanden are the two most dangerous players on the pitch. This game is perfectly set up for an exciting second half. 45+2 mins: Liverpool get very lucky. Hobinger is not looking and plays the ball back to Laws but Kerr is lurking and blocks the clearance, only to see it bounce just wide. Not the most bit of play from Liverpool. 45 mins: Four minutes added on. 42 mins: Kerr is pulled down by Bonner inside the centre circle to stop the Australian getting beyond her and going through on goal. The referee rightly gives her a yellow for a very cynical foul. The resulting free-kick is pinged into Laws’ arms. 40 mins: The corner is sent to the near post and flicked to the far. Bonner heads back across goal but Chelsea scramble it away. Hobinger gets another chance to ping the ball into the box but Musovic is there to punch clear. 38 mins: Clark decides one way of stopping James is to put in a heavy challenge on the forward. It is a fair tackle and it leaves James on the ground, which I suspect was the aim. Cuthbert tries to overplay inside her own half and is dispossessed. Liverpool counter and Van de Sanden looks to drive into the box and wins a corner for her efforts. 36 mins: James is causing all sort of problems down the left. She plays a neat one-two with Charles and strides into space but for once puts in a poor cross, much to Liverpool’s relief. 34 mins: A bit of back and forth between the two boxes without anything of note happening. 32 mins: The injury to Nusken has allowed both sets of players to take on fluids and listen to instructions from their respective managers. Nusken is up and wanders over to the side of the pitch. It looks like she will be OK to carry on. 30 mins: A cross is lifted into the Liverpool box but Nusken gets a whack in the head and play is immediately stopped. 28 mins: Chelsea are looking to keep the ball to not let Liverpool back into the game like after the first goal. 26 mins: That is four in four for Beever-Jones. James almost gets her second of the match. She cuts in from the left and takes aim for the far corner but Laws gets down well to stop her shot. GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (Beever-Jones, 24) James does the damage once again thanks to some fine work on the left. She crosses in perfectly for Beever-Jones to attack and she heads home from six yards. 22 mins: Van de Sanden leads a break up the pitch and slips the ball down the left. The cross goes into the box but Chelsea manage to clear. It is certainly end-to-end stuff at Stamford Bridge. 20 mins: Beever-Jones and Cuthbert enjoy some neat interplay until Hinds takes down Cuthbert on the edge of the box. Perisset decides to shoot rather than cross from the free-kick and it goes well over. 17 mins: James looks to dissect the Liverpool defence in order to send Kerr through on goal but Clark intercepts to end the danger. 15 mins: What a couple of minutes we have enjoyed. I suspect both coaches will be calling for their players to settle down. GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool (Carter og, 13) Liverpool go up the other end and equalise. Van de Sanden spins Carter and sprints into the box. It looks like she has taken too much time deciding whether to shoot or cross. She belatedly crosses and it bounces off Carter into the net. 12 mins: Liverpool will not be happy with conceding. They gave the ball away on the halfway and made it all too easy for Chelsea to cut through them. GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (James, 11) Speaking of … Chelsea counter and the ball reaches James on the left. She drives into the box, shows some nifty footwork to leave the defender for defender before calmly slotting into the corner. 10 mins: Considering the attendance, Stamford Bridge is a little quiet today. It seems like they need the team to give them something to cheer rather than the supporters influencing the players. 8 mins: Bright is sitting behind the Chelsea dugout looking a little unimpressed about being left out but they have a pretty hectic schedule in the coming weeks, so it is understandable that Hayes is rotating. 6 mins: Clark does well to win the ball off James but then kicks it straight out for a throw. Chelsea are certainly looking the livelier in the opening stages. 4 mins: James spots Charles on the overlap down the left. The full-back looks to put in a cross but it is turned behind for the first corner of the match. The corner reaches James who takes a relatively weak shot but Laws still feels the need to palm the ball away, putting Liverpool in a spot on bother. Thankfully for the goalkeeper, Liverpool manage to clear. The ball comes straight back at Liverpool. Cuthbert shoots on target but Clark diverts it over for another corner. 2 mins: Beever-Jones takes advantage of Fisk’s poor touch but does not get far as the Liverpool players immediately trips her. Kick off Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go! Matt Beard: “We are pleased with how we have started. We know it is going to be a tough game today. We caused Chelsea problems last year in the three games we played against them. We know they don’t like playing against us and we look forward to causing them problems today.” Emma Hayes: “My family are devastated - they are Chelsea fans. It is not every day these opportunities come up. It is not necessarily something I thought I would ever do but it is the only job that would take me away from Chelsea. “Of course I will play a part [in picking my successor]. We have time, we will find the right candidate and you will be extremely happy. “I feel like I am abandoning my family, I feel I have let them down. Every moment I have to the end will feel special. I have always said I hope to make the Chelsea fans proud. I am not going yet – there is a lot of winning to do this year.” It is estimated between 15,000 and 20,000 will be inside Stamford Bridge today. Emma Hayes has been incredibly success at Chelsea Women and her legacy will be the state in which she leaves the club. Sir Alex Ferguson got on the blower to her this week to have a chat with Hayes and share his experience. “Anything he says to me I always take with such pride. He is a legend of the game and someone whose opinion I value and he has a love of America,” Hayes said. “We talked a little bit about that, a little bit about legacy, a little bit about leaving at the top. So there were wise words from him. I’m sure it won’t be the last phone call I get from him this season.” What next for Chelsea? Karen Carney takes a look. Suzanne Wrack on Chelsea’s use of Stamford Bridge and how they can help boost attendances. Starting lineups Chelsea: Musovic, Ingle, Nusken, Carter, James, Perisset, Mjelde, Kerr, Charles, Cuthbert, Beever-Jones Subs: Berger, Hampton, Fishel, Nouwen, Lawrence, Kirby, Fleming, Kaneryd, Buchanan Liverpool: Laws, Koivisto, Clark, Bonner, Fisk, Hinds, Hobinger, Nagano, Holland, Roman Haug, Van de Sanden Subs: Micah, Parry, Kearns, Lundgaard, Taylor, Lawley, Kiernan, Enderby, Flint Preamble This is Chelsea’s first home game since Emma Hayes announced she would depart the club at the end of the season. Chelsea are hosting their second match of the season at Stamford Bridge and will be hoping for a good turnout as they look to capitalise on the growth of the women’s game and their owns team success. Chelsea are top of the table, unbeaten this season with only two points dropped, so will be eager to strengthen their position at the summit of the WSL. Liverpool are having an impressive season, too. They have only lost once in the league, having started the campaign with a shock win away to Arsenal. Manager Matt Beard believes the trip to Chelsea will be the “ultimate challenge” and will find out all he needs to know about his Liverpool side. Let’s hope for a cracker. Kick-off: 1.30pm GMT