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.”
