Fatigue after the international break, was the explanation that Chelsea Women’s head coach Sonia Bompastor gave after her team’s under-par performance against Brighton on Sunday.

Nevertheless, the game (a thrilling one for the neutral) finished 4-2 to the current Women’s Super League table-toppers who capitalised on more of their chances than the Seagulls, who were thwarted on numerous occasions by the outstretched palms or legs of Blues’ in-form goalie Hannah Hampton.

It means that Bompastor, in her first season at the Kingsmeadow club, has surpassed Blues’ legend Emma Hayes’ record by winning 13 games to date on the trot in all competitions.

Former Blue and fans favourite ‘super’ Fran Kirby, hobbling on crutches, watched from the stands as her new teammates conceded two goals in 40 minutes thanks to an on-the-line scramble by midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken followed five minutes later by a cheeky Aggie Beever-Jones interception as Brighton tried to play out from the back.

However Seagulls’ (and ex-Blues’ midfielder) Jelena Čanković, gave the visitors hope just before half-time with a curling strike from the edge of the 18-yard box to halve the deficit.

The second half saw the welcome return of Niamh Charles, who has been out since she sustained a dislocated shoulder in a pre-season friendly in September, as well as the extension of Chelsea’s lead thanks to a goal by Johanna Rytting Kaneryd who was the beneficiary of her teammate Lucy Bronze’s rebounding shot.

A rare mistake in the game by Hampton gifted Brighton their second goal in the 71st minute through forward Kiko Seike, and their frenetic hunt for an equaliser was on, but Nüsken quashed their hopes with a tap-in from a corner in injury time for her second goal.

“Before the game, in the press conference, someone told me that we are really dominating the league and it was not good for the league,” Bompastor said. “Today, it showed we have a competitive league… and I know that.”

As the Blues sit five points clear of their second placed rivals Manchester City, and nine points clear of chasers Arsenal and Man U, who will stop their winning streak?