Chelsea put their Champions League defeat to Barcelona behind them with a dominant 4-0 victory over struggling 10-player Crystal Palace. Guro Reiten opened from the spot before Catarina Macario scored a brace. Mia Fishel rounded off the night to restore their six-point lead at the top of the WSL.

Chelsea were always clear favourites coming into this encounter. The fortunes of the two could not have been more different – the hosts were unbeaten in the league and had scored over three times more goals than their opponents; Palace, meanwhile, were rooted to the bottom, fighting for survival.

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The one doubt surrounding Chelsea was how quickly they could recover from the weekend’s disappointment against Barça which all but destroyed their quadruple hopes. Sonia Bompastor rotated heavily, making seven changes to bring fresh energy into the side. The experienced Guro Reiten made her first start since returning from a back injury while Macario also returned in a changed attacking line. Naomi Girma, meanwhile, made her second start since joining in January, replacing the injured Nathalie Björn in defence.

Leif Smerud’s Palace side had not played a competitive fixture in three weeks, a quirk of the scheduling which did little to help them gain momentum. They had at least been able to replenish an injury-hit squad over the break with Clarissa Larisey recalled alongside Mille Gejl. Izzy Atkinson was also able to be named on the bench.

Chelsea set the tone early on, dominating the ball and mounting waves of attack. The visitors defended resolutely, limiting the space and putting bodies on the line to protect their goal. Macario had an effort blocked by several desperate bodies in the Palace box before Allyson Swaby’s instinctive reaction deflected a goalbound strike from Aggie Beever-Jones just wide.

It was, however, only a matter of time before Chelsea found the breakthrough and two goals in two minutes put them in firm control. The first came when a cross from the influential Reiten struck Molly-Mae Sharpe’s hand in the box. The Norwegian stepped up to take the penalty, coolly beating Shae Yanez for her eighth league goal of the season.

Chelsea took advantage of Palace’s naivety to double the lead when Girma and Sandy Baltimore combined to exploit the space left by an advanced Lily Woodham. The latter found Macario in space in the box and she drove a low effort past the Palace goalkeeper.

Palace’s evening got worse immediately after the break when they were reduced to 10 players. Swaby saw red for denying a goalscoring opportunity, bringing down Sjoeke Nüsken just outside the box. The punishment became even more severe when Macario stepped up to convert the free-kick. Her strike went straight through the wall, helped by a heavy deflection that wrongfooted Yanez.

Bompastor made changes at half-time, Mia Fishel and Lucy Bronze entering the field. There was a special moment for the former as she added a fourth goal with an instinctive flick after Bronze had nodded down a corner. It was her first goal since recovering from an ACL injury that had kept her out for over a year.

It was a comfortable win in the end for Chelsea, the perfect tonic after Sunday’s disappointment and one that leaves them four points from securing their sixth successive league title. Palace’s survival hopes, meanwhile, continue to dwindle as they remain seven points behind 11th-placed Aston Villa with three games to play.