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74 min Grant goes down so takes treatment; Villa will welcome the breather.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 73 min Baltimore is now playing on the left wing, with James on the right and Charles at left-back. Villa are struggling to get out now.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 73 min Change for Chelsea, the returning Niamh Charles replacing Thompson, who played well in the first half but less so in the second.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 72 min The splendidly-named Oona Siren has just scored an absolute banger, volleying in from the edge of the box, Paul Scholes-style, to give West Ham an equaliser against London City.<\/p>\n Siren is congratulated by her teammates after scoring. Photograph: James Fearn\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.31 EDT<\/p>\n 70 min Here, though, comes Thompson again, latching on to a pass in behind and she\u2019s in! But as she looks to round the keeper, Roebuck extends an arm to tip the all away.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 69 min Baltimore brings a lovely balance and she chops on to her left foot, totally fooling Grant, then crosses, and Kerr ducks underneath it, but Thompson can\u2019t convert.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 68 min Villa send on Hijikata, just returned from Japan\u2019s victorious Asia Cup campaign, for Taylor.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 67 min Again, Carpenter crosses from the right, Kerr leaping into a challenge as she looks to turn inside the near post \u2026 but she cannot.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.26 EDT<\/p>\n 66 min Villa are looking to take the sting out of things now, a point within their grasp.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 65 min Chelsea have moved the ball pretty well today but, in the second half haven\u2019t really looked like scoring. Carpenter, though, goes down the right, crosses \u2026 and Villa clear.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 63 min Baltimore has given Chelsea a bit of attacking impetus, but a misplaced pass allows Villa to move forward and find Hanson, 20 yards out, near the right corner of the box, Wilms\u2019 run taking a defender away. So Hanson has a look, then unfurls a gorgeous curler that looks headed for the top corner \u2026 only to clatter the angle! What an effort that was; what a player this is!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 61 min Chelsea win a corner which Taylor clears and, as time elapses, Manchester United and Arsenal, their rivals for a Champions League spot, will be paying close attention.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 59 min Chelsea are dominating now and Hanson, having been buffeted all afternoon, looks like she\u2019s slowed down. But Villa remain a threat on the counter.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 56 min Baltimore has gone to left-back and, as I type, she plays a low pass into the box which Kerr reaches ahead of Roebuck \u2013 though I don\u2019t think it was for her \u2013 nicking it away and wearing the inevitable out-cleaning. That\u2019s got to be a penalty \u2026 but no, the flag goes up for offside.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.16 EDT<\/p>\n 55 min Bronze leaves one on Hanson, a body to the midriff and perhaps the only time she\u2019s got close to her all afternoon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 54 min Changes for Chelsea: Cuthbert for Girma and Baltimore for Kaptein.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 53 min James finds Nusken then gets on her bike, racing down the left to receive the return, but her clipped low cross is cleared. Chelsea need to get her on the ball at every opportunity, because Villa can\u2019t handle her.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 51 min Buurman diddles Wilms once then twice \u2013 it\u2019s almost cruel, the defender left scrabbling about on the grass \u2013 but her cut-back goes astray and Villa clear.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 50 min Bronze heads away at the near post and, on the edge, Taylor misses her shot, then Wilms, who bagged three first-half assists, curls in a cross that has Hampton scrambling, the ball drifting past the far post, just.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 49 min I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d want her at centre-forward, but would love to see what she can do as an attacking midfielder \u2013 her ability to beat players in the middle of the pitch and shoot from distance is an outrage. Meantime, though, Villa win a corner which Hampton punches behind for another, from under the bar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 48 min Again, Chelsea move the ball nicely, and I wonder if, in time, Lauren James will move to a central position \u2013 she\u2019s kust too good to be restricted to the flank.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 min This is the first time both sides have scored thrice in the first half of a WSL match; if Chelsea don\u2019t win today, their almost non-existent chances of retaining their title will be mathematically over.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 min We go again\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Half-time reading:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>HALF-TIME: Chelsea 3-3 Aston Villa<\/p>\n A fantastic half, Villa starting well and coming back well, with Chelsea dominating in between times. I can\u2019t wait to see what happens next.<\/p>\n Chelsea’s Sjoeke N\u00fcsken is challenged by Aston Villa’s Miri Taylor. Photograph: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.20 EDT<\/p>\n 45+2 min Again, James hoves across the face of the box from left to centre, leathering a shot that Deslandes wears in the midriff before folding; it looks evil. She won\u2019t mind, though, because without her intervention, that was 4-3.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45 min We\u2019ll enjoy three additional minutes. This has been \u2013 and still is \u2013 one of the funnest halves I\u2019ve seen this season.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 44 min Pre-match, I wondered if Villa might get some joy out of Buurman, but it\u2019s actually Bronze who\u2019s been caught for two of their goals. She\u2019s struggling with Hansen\u2019s pace and movement \u2013 something she has in common with many WSL defenders.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 43 min Since Villa\u2019s second goal, Chelsea haven\u2019t been able to take back the total control they had prior to it. I sense that, at half-time, Bompastor will be sharing some sentiments with them.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 42 min Chelsea win a corner and Nusken returns; James sends another nasty delivery flat and into the middle, but Nusken can\u2019t get the connection she\u2019s after.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 40 min Nusken treads on the ball and goes down, but is soon up and limping off; I think she\u2019ll be OK to continue. That second Chelsea goal, by the way, is Girma\u2019s first in the WSL; no wonder she was so eager to claim it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 38 min This game could finish with almost any score, and Arsenal will be watching it with interest. On the one hand, they\u2019ll know that the way James is playing, their Champions League tie is far from over, but the way Chelsea are defending, they\u2019ll fancy their chances of adding to the three goals they scored last week.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 37 min The second Chelsea goal has been credited to Girma; I think that\u2019s the correct call.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Chelsea 3-3 Aston Villa (Hanson 35)<\/p>\n OH MY DAYS! Nightswonger does well down the left and when the ball comes into the middle, Wilms, now infield, bumps it off her thigh into Hanson\u2019s path, and the finish is again deadly, swept inside the near post with very little backlift. That\u2019s 12 league goals for the season now, and we might well be watching one of its best games.<\/p>\n Kirsty Hanson of Aston Villa reacts after scoring her team’s third goal. Photograph: Kate McShane\/WSL\/WSL Football\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.45 EDT<\/p>\n 35 min Now it\u2019s Villa moving the ball as they seek an equaliser\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 33 min You can only credit Villa, who started superbly, spent the next half-hour suffering, then found a way of hauling themselves back into the game. They\u2019ve got some serious speed and precision on the counter \u2013 their two opportunities have been crafted and finished with a complete absence of ruth.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Chelsea 3-2 Aston Villa (Hanson 32)<\/p>\n Now then! Again, Villa send it wide to Wilms, again her low cross is perfect, and this time, Hanson runs off Bronze to punch home a finish fro close range. What a game this is!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 29 min Villa look shellshocked \u2013 these Chelsea goals have come far too easily but, on the other hand, pressure takes a toll.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Chelsea 3-1 Aston Villa (James 27)<\/p>\n LAUREN JAMES, THOUGH, WHAT A PLAYER! She collects a big switch and immediately veers infield, away from Hanson before, from 20 yards, dragging a low, fizzing shot inside the near post. She\u2019s enjoying herself, and if that continues, this\u2019ll get messy.<\/p>\n Lauren James after scoring Chelsea\u2019s third goal. Photograph: John Walton\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.42 EDT<\/p>\n 26 min Lauren James, though, what a player. Everything she does looks so natural \u2013 I can\u2019t think of many players who combine pace, power, skill, invention and intelligence, though of course her brother is another.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 25 min Girma celebrated like she was sure she\u2019d scored, and replays are inconclusive, but I think she imparts a fine glance. Chelsea have responded really well to going behind.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa (Girma 23)<\/p>\n Chelsea hace been playing for this. Again, the corner goes short, James to Thompson, again a return-pass finds the maestro on the corner of the box, and this time, her delivery is poifect, curling in; Roebuck can\u2019t move in case someone gets a touch and though Girma does, even if she hadn\u2019t, the ball would still have gone in.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 22 min Elsewhere, London City lead West Ham 1-0; back with our game, Thompson, who\u2019s started the game well, wins Chelsea another corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa (Kerr 20)<\/p>\n It was coming. A pass into midfield and Nusken, allowed to turn far too easily, slides Kerr in behind. Running from centre to left, Roebuck assumes, with good reason, that the shot is going back across goal, so plants feet ready to dive, and when the effort is directed towards the near post, can\u2019t react quickly enough to keep it out; all she can do is palm into the net.<\/p>\n Sam Kerr fires in Chelsea\u2019s equaliser. Photograph: John Walton\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.29 EDT<\/p>\n 19 min Chelsea are playing pretty well now; I very much doubt this match ends 0-1. Which isn\u2019t to say Villa won\u2019t win it, just that it\u2019ll probably take another goal, at least.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.19 EDT<\/p>\n 18 min This time, James stick the corner into the box and Nusken\u2019s up \u2026 but her header flashes wide.<\/p>\n