We should probably talk about the Lauren James goal first, if only because it was the one thing that appeared genuinely unequivocal, the single brilliant shaft of light in this cracked mirror of a game. It came 27 minutes in, the score 1-1, the surface weathered, the terms of engagement still tentatively being negotiated. Jess Carter had headed Chelsea in front. Beth England had tapped in an equaliser shortly afterwards and dutifully refused to celebrate against her former club.
James is having a fabulous season, a player who seems to be operating on a different plane at the moment, a kind of artificial intelligence that allows her to glide through a game more frictionlessly than anyone else. Emma Hayes held her back a little last term, allowing her to find the size and shape of her game, allowing her once more to trust a body that has let her down more than is really fair for such a supremely talented 21-year-old.
