Lauren James is back - but Aggie Beever-Jones steals the show! Winners and losers as Chelsea women defeat NWSL champions Gotham on a good night for the Blues' Lionesses

It's been three months since fans last saw Lauren James in action, the electric forward having to miss all four of England's summer fixtures due to a foot injury that proved annoyingly problematic while the Lionesses were securing automatic qualification for the 2025 European Championship. Fortunately, any concerns those associated with club and country might have had were eased on Monday as she returned to action at Red Bull Arena.

It wasn't one of James' most outstanding performances - she struggled to get involved, in truth - but that's not any big worry in the first game of pre-season. Instead, the positive was that the 22-year-old moved freely and got 45 minutes under her belt after a difficult summer.

As pre-season begins, injuries are the worst fear for any manager, player and fan and, on Monday, one was dealt to one of Chelsea's most important players as Erin Cuthbert limped off with just 20 minutes on the clock. It was bad luck that the Scotland international awkwardly tumbled to the ground while battling away in midfield, and it resulted in a player who so rarely stays down under a challenge giving Bompastor cause for concern.

The positive was that Cuthbert was able to somewhat walk off the pitch herself, with aid from the medical staff, rather than needing to be stretchered away. However, the knock to her knee was still worrying as the midfielder was in clear discomfort as she returned to the dressing room.

It'll take a few days for the full extent to be known and the club will hope for good news as to lose Cuthbert would be to lose not only a crucial player, but also a key leader in this team.

Last season was a breakthrough one for Beever-Jones, the versatile forward who is Chelsea through and through and has been at the club since she was nine years old. After loan spells with Bristol City, in the Championship, and then Everton, in the Women's Super League, the 21-year-old came to the fore in Emma Hayes' final year and scored at a remarkable rate, despite often being used as a substitute. She was so good, in fact, that it led to a senior England debut.

For the coming season, competition in the forward areas has only increased. Sandy Baltimore, an established France international, has arrived from Paris Saint-Germain, the young Lucy Watson has joined the pre-season tour hoping to show that she has what it takes to have her own breakthrough year and some long-term absentees will return to the fold before the end of 2024, namely Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel. There is also a new coach to impress in the bid to be in the starting XI.

However, any concerns that Beever-Jones' game time could be impacted by any of these factors were quickly squashed on Monday night as she made a blistering start to the pre-season tour, showing new boss Bompastor just why Hayes trusted her.

For the first goal, it was the winger who picked up a loose ball in midfield and restored calm by teeing up Cuthbert for her assist; the second saw Beever-Jones show clarity in her decision-making when she cut the ball back to Rytting Kaneryd after making a good run; while the third, her goal, was about her speed, awareness and finishing. The 21-year-old only looks likely to build on last year after this first glimpse of 2024-25.

Chelsea's starting XI on Monday felt like a big indication that Lucy Bronze is going to get the role she craves with the Blues. Bompastor did not hold back with her line up, putting out what was essentially a full-strength team, and it was the England star who she chose at right-back, ahead of Eve Perisset and Ashley Lawrence.

Bronze left Barcelona this summer because she wanted more minutes than she was going to be offered by the Catalans in the upcoming season and it's fair to say that her switch to Chelsea raised eyebrows, as the club was already well-stocked in her position. Yet, the early signs are that she could well usurp her competition to get the regular starting gig for the English champions.

Last season, Perisset spent the first half of the campaign and more playing brilliantly at right-back. She was extremely difficult to beat one-v-one, she got forward well to support the attack and delivered good set-pieces. She was dependable, consistent and looking like a fantastic signing, following her arrival from Montpellier in the summer of 2022.

It's been a difficult summer for the France international, though. She spent the latter part of that campaign on the outside looking in, struggled for minutes at a home Olympics and, already competing at right-back with Lawrence, watched Chelsea sign yet another player for her position in Bronze.

The England star hasn't made this move to be a rotation player; she is going to play. So, when Bronze moved inside, mid-game, to a centre-back role on Monday, it didn't feel like that was Bompastor trying something new, either. While Lawrence showcased her versatility in a more advanced role, Bronze's movement felt like a temporary fix to allow Perisset to come on and get some minutes. How many of those will she get this coming season? Perhaps it's a little early to say, but it's hard to be confident that she'll be a regular starter in these circumstances, despite the quality she has shown.

The second half of this match was entirely different to the first. As is normal in friendlies, the goal-fest was disrupted drastically by flurries of substitutions, with neither side able to really get into any rhythm as the scoreline remained the same and the game ticked towards full-time. Maika Hamano, though, was the best player of that second 45 minutes, doing everything she could to make an impact and try to find Chelsea that fourth goal.

Hamano is in a slightly similar situation to Beever-Jones. Signed by the club in January of last year, she had a breakthrough 2023-24 season after a productive loan spell in Sweden, making some key contributions as the Blues won a fifth-successive WSL title. But she came back into pre-season in a more competitive forward line and with a new coach to impress.

As a half-time substitute on Monday, the 20-year-old did exactly that. Alongside some nice glimpses from England youngster Watson, the Japan star looked the most likely to be at the heart of any fourth goal for Chelsea - pressing well, causing Gotham problems and generally showcasing the qualities that allowed her to have big moments in Hayes' final campaign. Keep this up, and she will not struggle for opportunities under Bompastor, either.