The sun came out on Sunday for our trip to south London after Saturday's torrential rain, but the howling wind wasn't conducive to stroking the ball around on the floor. For all of Chelsea's good work in the opening quarter-of-an-hour, it was the home side who took the lead when Molly Bartrip bundled the ball home from a corner after 20 minutes.

Sonia Bompastor's team talk must've had an impact as the Blues emerged with a renewed focus after the break as Malard levelled the scores on 50 minutes with a stunning effort from the edge of the box.

The match once again became tight as Palace attempted to preserve the point, but some determined work from substitute Baltimore on the left wing gave her the space to serve up an opportunity on a plate for Malard to head in her second of the afternoon.

Baltimore then got herself on the scoresheet when she converted a late penalty after Malard was fouled in the box, ensuring we finished the day on a positive note after our first-half struggles.

Changes made

Bompastor made two alterations to her starting line-up ahead of this fixture, rotating Keira Walsh and Lauren James out of the side in place of Sjoeke Nusken and Maika Hamano. Meanwhile, Manaka Matsukubo made the squad for the first time since joining Chelsea in the summer from North Carolina Courage.

The game began with the Blues pushing forward to make an immediate impact, with Alyssa Thompson causing problems for the home side down the left-hand channel and Ellie Carpenter linking up well with central striker Malard on the right.

Our first real opportunity of the match came in the 14th minute, when Hamano saw her shot palmed away by the goalkeeper before Malard's shot was cleared off the line by the Palace defence.

Going behind

The strong winds in Sutton were always going to play a part in this contest, and made set-pieces more dangerous for both sides. When Palace swung in their second corner of the match, defender Bartrip popped up at the back post to steer the ball through the resulting melee and into the bottom corner of the net.

Chelsea attempted to hit back through a Nusken power drive from inside the penalty area, but Pauline Peyraud-Magnin was able to quickly get low to snuff out the danger.

Drawing level

Bompastor made two changes at the break, exchanging Hamano and Thompson for Erin Cuthbert and Baltimore. We showed our attacking intent when Malard went close within minutes of the restart, and it was the French international who got us back on level terms shortly afterwards.

Receiving the ball 25 yards from goal from a Katie McCabe throw-in, Malard found herself in space and unleashed a stunning strike that fizzed past a helpless Peyraud-Magnin.

But determined Palace were keen to fight back, and there was a let-off when former Blues striker Bethany England got herself into a good position to shoot but blazed her attempt over the bar.

Patience pays off

Our second goal of the afternoon saw Malard net her brace, but the chance was created solely by Baltimore. Driving towards the box, she sped between two Palace defenders before evading the challenge of a third and making it to the by-line to deliver a looping ball straight to the head of Malard, who wasted no time in nodding the ball home.

Our noses were finally in front with 15 minutes to play, and Malard could've had her hat-trick soon afterwards but was denied by the offside flag after taking a slight touch on a brilliant ball in from McCabe.

As the home side began to tire, Nusken was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet when she hit the woodwork, and with 88 minutes on the clock the French duo were decisive once again when we were awarded a penalty. Malard won the spot-kick when she was fouled inside the box, and after the number nine received some brief treatment, the ball was passed to Baltimore.

The substitute stepped up and converted, securing the points after an excellent second-half display. There was to be one more positive before the final whistle, too, as Matsukubo was handed her Chelsea debut when she was introduced on 90 minutes. This was another resilient performance from the Blues, as we recorded our sixth win from seven WSL games so far this season.

What it means...

We go top of the WSL table, pending Manchester City's result later on.

Up next...

We return to Women's Champions League action when we take on Roma at Plough Lane at 5.45pm on Wednesday.

The teams

Chelsea: Hampton, Carpenter, Bronze (c), Buchanan, McCabe, Nusken (Dragoni 90), Potter, Kaptein (Beever-Jones 69), Thompson (Baltimore h/t), Hamano (Cuthbert h/t), Malard (Matsukubo 90)
Unused substitutes: Peng, Buurman, Las, Brown
Scorers: Malard 50, 75, Baltimore 90
Booked: Kaptein 44, McCabe 44, Bronze 63

Crystal Palace: Peyraud-Magnin, Everett (c), Lloyd-Smith, England, Ladd (Enge 90+5), Blanchard, Larkin, Goldie, Tsunoda, Swaby (Napier 90+5), Bartrip
Unused subs: Yanez, Sharpe, Howat, Weerden, Nolan, Hopcroft, O'Brien
Scorers: Bartrip 20
Booked: Blanchard 44, Ladd 70

Referee: Alice Parker