Lauren James Shines in Chelsea's 5-0 Victory Over Manchester United

Lauren James’ talent is no secret. Everyone inside Kingsmeadow knows what she can do. And yet, she still finds new ways to make people gasp.

On Sunday, in a ruthless 5-0 dismantling of her former club Manchester United, there was one moment that summed it all up. Hemmed in by the touchline, defenders swarming, she took the ball under pressure and somehow kept it glued to her feet, kept it in play, slipped past challenges that should have stopped her. Heads turned in the stands. People laughed in disbelief. How did she do that?

The answer, really, is that this is just what James does now. That piece of sorcery barely made the highlights of a performance in which she again punished United on the scoresheet, too. She struck her fifth goal in five Women’s Super League games against the Red Devils, finishing with the cold precision of a centre forward after darting into the box to meet a clever pass from the excellent Keira Walsh. One touch, one clinical outcome. A No.9’s goal from a player who was, and wasn’t, actually playing as one.

Because Sonia Bompastor did not ask her to be a traditional striker. James led the line, yes, but as a false nine with the shackles off. The Chelsea head coach gave her freedom, not fixed positions, and built the structure around that idea. Sjoeke Nusken and Wieke Kaptein were told to run beyond, to keep stretching United’s back line, to make sure the penalty area was never empty even when James drifted away from it.

That plan opened the stage for the full Lauren James experience. With licence to roam left and right, she popped up wherever the damage could be done. Her two-footedness turned every touch into a guessing game for United’s defenders. One moment she was curling in teasing crosses, the next she was shaping shots that forced Phallon Tullis-Joyce into action, and all the while she was dragging markers into places they did not want to go. United simply had no answer.

This was not necessarily how Bompastor would have drawn it up at the start of the season. Circumstances nudged James into the role last year when injuries hit, and they did so again here. But when a player can thrive in so many different scenarios, tactical compromises start to look like smart design. James doesn’t just cope with new responsibilities; she bends them to suit her.

The contrast with 12 months ago is stark. At this point last season, she was only a few weeks into what became a three-and-a-half-month injury lay-off, stuck on the sidelines while Chelsea and England moved on without her. Now she is fit, sharp, and dictating games again.

If that continues, the implications stretch far beyond one emphatic afternoon against Manchester United. Chelsea are desperate to erase the memory of a bad year and reassert themselves at the top of the domestic game. The Lionesses, too, will lean heavily on her form as they chase World Cup glory at the end of the campaign.

Keep her on the pitch, keep her in this kind of mood, and both club and country suddenly look a lot more dangerous.