Chelsea thrashed Leicester City to move a point behind Women’s Super League leaders Manchester United with a game in hand.
The Blues were 3-0 up after 32 minutes following goals from Guro Reiten, Erin Cuthbert and Pernille Harder.
Denmark’s Harder added a second just before half-time as Emma Hayes’ side further exerted their dominance.
Goals from Lauren James and Jelena Cankovic rounded off the success in the second half.
“I told the team that [being clinical] is something that’s been lacking from us in the first part of the season,” Hayes told Sky Sports.
“We just haven’t converted or created in the same way I know this team can do but we’re doing it now, we’re doing it at the right time of the season. Hopefully that continues for the remainder.”
Chelsea will seal a fourth consecutive league title if they win their three remaining matches, including a crucial meeting with London rivals Arsenal, who are in third place.
Manchester United have only two games left and 13 goals in thumping wins over Everton and Leicester have seen the Blues move level on goal difference with the leaders too.
Both sides also face each other in the FA Cup final on Sunday as they chase a Double.
Boss Hayes made six changes to the side that thrashed Everton 7-0 just three days ago, with Harder and Cuthbert getting starts.
On her first league start since November 2022, Harder looked keen to make up for lost time and her contribution effectively ended the game as a contest in the first half.
Her double came in 10 minutes and she provided an assist for the second game running as she set up Reiten for a sliding finish into the bottom corner.
It highlighted Harder’s importance to the side in a week when she has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich, alongside partner and Chelsea captain Magdalena Eriksson.
Hayes will also have been pleased to see James back on the scoresheet in style in the 56th minute when she got the ball on the right, shimmied into the box and blasted a drive into the top corner.
Hayes rested Harder, James and Cuthbert for the last 25 minutes, perhaps with Sunday in mind, but the Blues still made it 6-0 in added time.
Cankovic fired in from 18 yards with Leitzig only able to palm the ball into the roof of her net as her side go into Sunday’s Wembley showpiece in free-scoring form.
“I like this stage of the season and I think we’re in a great rhythm,” added Hayes. “We’re in really good form and we certainly go into the cup final on Sunday full of confidence.”
Leicester need focus for relegation fight
Back-to-back defeats against title-chasing Arsenal and Chelsea are not the sort of results that will define Leicester’s season.
But they will have to regroup and focus on their fight against relegation.
Remy Siemsen had a shot blocked and fired narrowly wide, but the second-bottom side rarely troubled the hosts.
The Foxes have made huge progress under Willie Kirk, given they had no points at the start of 2023. They are now two clear of bottom side Reading with two matches left to play.
Their next match, on Sunday, 21 May, is at home to a West Ham side who have not won a WSL match this year and Leicester will be confident of a victory to help keep them up.
Source – BBC Sport
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