Chelsea took command of the Women's Super League title race with a blistering 3-1 win over London rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, to all but end the Gunners' faint hopes of WSL glory this season.
The Blues, now six points clear of Jonas Eidevall's side, tore their visitors apart with a sensational first-half showing, doing to Arsenal exactly what the Gunners did to them in the reverse fixture at Emirates Stadium.
Emma Hayes' side were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline at the break before going on to lose 4-1 back in December, but enacted the perfect revenge mission at their west London home, as Lauren James' opener was supplemented by two Sjoeke Nusken strikes before the halfway point.
An uncharacteristically difficult night for Arsenal was made worse by the fact that, before a ball was even kicked, referee Rebecca Welch had identified a clash of playing socks, and the visitors were controversially forced into wearing replacements from the Chelsea megastore - a mishap that delayed kick off by 30 minutes.
Chelsea will now chase for top honours in a head-to-head battle with second-placed Manchester City, who play Brighton on Sunday, with the chance to draw level on 40 points at the summit.
