Chelsea Women Crush Crystal Palace to Tighten Grip on WSL Lead
Only three games are left in the Women's Super League, and Chelsea Women aren't messing around. After a clinical 4-0 win over Crystal Palace at Kingsmeadow on Wednesday, they've put themselves six points clear at the top—and now, one hand practically on the trophy. For fans who crave dominance, this was a showcase.
Coming off a stinging Champions League loss to Barcelona, manager Sonia Bompastor made major changes—seven new faces in the starting eleven. Big names like Natalie Bjorn sat out after picking up a knock, and even captain Millie Bright got a break. Did it make a difference? If anything, it showed how deep Chelsea’s bench really is.
Things got rolling in the 22nd minute when Chelsea won a penalty. Guro Reiten stepped up and calmly slotted it home, sending the crowd of 1,509 into celebration mode. Two minutes later, Catarina Macario found the net with a sharp finish. Crystal Palace barely had time to regroup before being 2-0 down. Even at that early stage, you could sense Palace were staring down the barrel.
Palace just couldn’t catch a break. Early in the second half, their defender Allyson Swaby was shown a straight red card for hacking down Sjoeke Nusken when she was clean through. Down to ten players, Palace’s uphill battle turned into a mountain. Chelsea didn't waste the opportunity—Macario bagged her second just two minutes after the sending-off, courtesy of a deflected free kick that sealed Palace’s fate.
The fourth and final blow landed at the 64th minute. Mia Fishel, coming off the bench, found the back of the net to complete the rout. By then, the result was beyond doubt. It wasn’t just the starters making waves—subs like Lucy Bronze and Mayra Ramirez, part of Chelsea’s deep pool of talent, turned the match into an all-squad affair. Sonia Bompastor’s rotation policy looked spot on: legs were fresh, hunger intact, and standards sky-high.
Crystal Palace’s Survival Hopes Fade
On the other bench, Palace’s struggles continued. Their run without a win dates back to March 16, when they toppled Aston Villa. Manager Laura Kaminski hoped that a three-week rest would reset the squad and ease injury woes, but the chasm in quality was obvious from kickoff. Now, they sit seven points away from safety, with relegation looming ever closer.
This match felt like a snapshot of the season. While Chelsea Women march toward another championship, crisis mode hovers over Palace, who can only hope for a miracle escape. Meanwhile, second-placed Arsenal are left clutching at straws—the gap is six points and Chelsea only need seven more from their last three games. It would take a collapse of epic proportions for the Blues to let the title slip.
For Chelsea, the focus quickly shifts back to Europe with a Champions League semifinal second leg against Barcelona on the horizon. With the league almost in the bag, they’ll want to bring their sharpness from Kingsmeadow to Barcelona. For everyone else, it’s clear: when Chelsea rotate, they reload. And that’s bad news for anyone chasing them.
