Chelsea Women beat Crystal Palace 3-1 as Malard double and Baltimore impact turn match around

Melvine Malard scored twice as Chelsea Women came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-1, with Sandy Baltimore adding a late penalty to complete their second-half comeback at the 360 Engage Stadium in Sutton.

Molly Bartrip’s 20th-minute opener gave Palace a half-time lead, but Malard equalised six minutes after the restart and headed Chelsea ahead in the 75th minute.

The victory follows Chelsea’s 6-2 win over Tottenham last weekend and takes Sonia Bompastor’s side to 19 points from seven Women’s Super League matches.

Bartrip gives Palace the lead

Palace struck first when Bartrip converted from close range following Fuka Tsunoda’s delivery after a corner.

The hosts held that advantage until the interval, leaving Chelsea needing another productive second half after scoring five times after the break against Spurs.

Bompastor introduced Erin Cuthbert for Maika Hamano alongside Baltimore at half-time.

Malard turns the match around

Malard brought Chelsea level in the 51st minute, scoring from outside the penalty area after a pass from Katie McCabe.

Her second came with 15 minutes of normal time remaining. Baltimore supplied the assist and Malard headed home from close range to put the visitors ahead for the first time.

Baltimore then converted a 90th-minute penalty to secure the result. The goals and timings are recorded in Palace’s official match centre.

Chelsea remain unbeaten after seven games

Chelsea arrived with five wins and a draw from their opening six league fixtures, as detailed in the club’s pre-match preview. This victory extends that unbeaten start and makes it nine goals across their past two WSL matches.

For Palace, the half-time advantage brought no reward. They suffer another home league defeat following last weekend’s 1-0 loss to West Ham.