Chelsea beat Palace to edge closer to WSL title

Elizabeth Botcherby
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea restored their six-point lead at the top of the Women's Super League table with a comfortable 4-0 win over 10-player Crystal Palace at Kingsmeadow.

The Blues now require just four points from their remaining three matches to clinch a sixth successive league title.

Crystal Palace, who sit seven points from safety, will be relegated on Sunday if they lose to West Ham.

Hosts Chelsea were on top from kick-off, with Oriane Jean-Francois, Sjoeke Nusken and Guro Reiten all going close, but they had to wait until the 22nd minute to make the breakthrough. Molly-Mae Sharpe gave away a penalty for handball and although goalkeeper Shae Yanez got two hands to the ball she could not keep out Reiten's spot-kick.

Catarina Macario doubled Chelsea's lead less than two minutes later, coolly guiding a right-footed strike into the bottom corner after being picked out unmarked in the box by Sandy Baltimore.

Crystal Palace had to play the majority of the second half with 10 players after captain Allyson Swaby was sent off in the 47th minute for bringing down Nusken, who was through on goal.

Macario scored from the resulting free-kick, with a huge deflection off Palace defender Lily Woodham wrong-footing Yanez, before Mia Fishel added Chelsea's fourth, touching Lucy Bronze's header in from close range.

"This was a crucial game in terms of points on the run to the title. It was a crucial win," manager Sonia Bompastor told BBC Sport.

"The result is really good [but] the second half was not good enough in terms of the high standards we've set."

Chelsea bounce back from Barcelona but lack ruthlessness in attack

Catarina Macario celebrates scoring for ChelseaGetty Images

Macario scored twice in Chelsea's 4-0 win

Chelsea are not used to losing, doing so only twice in all competitions this season.

Wednesday's meeting with Crystal Palace, therefore, had an air of unfamiliarity about it. On Sunday, Chelsea lost 4-1 in Barcelona, including conceding two goals in the final 10 minutes, to put a severe dent in their hopes of reaching the Women's Champions League final.

Bompastor called on her players to "show a reaction and bounce back". She also made seven changes to her starting XI, not only to rest players before Sunday's second leg but to see who put their hands up for a starting berth.

And Chelsea did bounce back, rarely leaving cruise control as they breezed to another WSL win - their 16th of the season.

They came out of the blocks firing, pinning Palace inside their own half for much of the opening 20 minutes, dominated possession (70%), and scored four-plus goals in the league for the sixth time this season.

With two goals and five shots, Macario was the standout performer. Reiten was similarly busy, while Baltimore - making a rare appearance on the wing after many outings in defence - and Ashley Lawrence linked up well on the right.

However, while Crystal Palace and Barcelona share an appreciation of a red and blue colour palette, that is where the similarities between the two sides end.

Crystal Palace did not test Chelsea defensively, failing to register a single shot on target and having just four touches in Chelsea's box.

or all the positives of a 4-0 scoreline, Chelsea were not clinical in front of goal.

Only seven of their 29 shots were on target, they lacked quality in the final third, particularly late in the game as Bompastor brought on fresh legs, and lacked a ruthlessness despite their player advantage for 43 minutes.

And the mood at the final whistle spoke volumes, with Bompastor being direct in her criticism: "The really good teams hurt the opposition when they have the opportunity. This game could have finished with six or seven goals and we only got four. [It's] not good enough.

"When you want to be one of the best teams in Europe, or in this league, you need to have that mentality. When you have the opportunity to score goals, you have to do that. We need to work on our mentality."

The win will give Chelsea confidence - but Barcelona will be a very different challenge.

Player of the match

C. Macário
7.24
9 C. Macário
7.24
11 G. Reiten
6.91
21 N. Charles
6.83
17 S. Baltimore
6.78
22 L. Bronze
6.78
6 S. Nüsken
6.73
4 M. Bright
6.60
2 M. Fishel
6.57
12 A. Lawrence
6.52
16 N. Girma
6.47
27 O. Jean-François
6.44
19 J. Rytting Kaneryd
6.26
33 A. Beever-Jones
6.13
23 M. Hamano
6.10
25 M. Mpome
5.95
24 H. Hampton
5.88
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