Chelsea Women kept up the momentum at the top of the WSL with a 3-0 victory under the floodlights at Everton.

Playing at Walton Hall Park on Wednesday night, the Blues went ahead after 14 minutes when Sam Kerr once again linked up with Fran Kirby to set up the little No14 to score after she galloped through. Ji So-Yun had set the move in motion with a pass from deep to Kerr.

In truth, Chelsea should have been two up as Mel Leupolz saw her second-minute penalty saved following an Everton handball.

It remained 1-0 at half-time, but Pernille Harder made it 2-0 on the hour after Kerr again passed to Kirby, who shimmied and laid the ball on a plate for Harder.

Ann-Katrin Berger was called into action to tip a looping Everton cross over, but Chelsea (bolstered by Guro Reiten on for Kerr) held on. Once again, Naimh Charles impressed as a stand-in right back for the crocked Maren Mjelde, seriously injured in the Conti Cup final and destined to miss the rest of the season.

Charles put the ball into the danger area with 10 minutes of the game remaining, and Harder headed goalwards. The keeper flapped at the ball as she retreated, and Leupolz atoned for her penalty miss by bundling the ball home for 3-0.

Chelsea were comfortable, winning a sixth straight away game without conceding – another welcome clean sheet for the defence, and next travel to Romania for the supposedly ‘home’ leg of their two-match game against Wolfsburg.