Goals from Guro Reiten, Erin Cuthbert and a brace from Pernille Harder before half-time set the Blues on course for a fourth consecutive league victory, which takes us to within a single point of leaders Manchester United with a game to spare.

Lauren James rifled home our fifth of the night just shy of the hour mark before a flurry of changes allowed manager Emma Hayes to utilise our squad depth to good effect, and Jelena Cankovic put the icing on the cake with a sixth in stoppage time.

The selection

There were six changes to the side which began the 7-0 victory over Everton at Kingsmeadow on Sunday, with Ann-Katrin Berger coming in for Zecira Musovic between the sticks while Jess Carter started in the heart of defence.

Melanie Leupolz and Cuthbert formed the holding midfield partnership, James provided pace and creativity from the right side, while Harder led the attack having netted twice off the bench last time out.

There were some pleasing additions to the matchday squad for this one with Kadeisha Buchanan and Katerina Svitkova both featuring among the substitutes for the first time since their respective injury lay-offs.

Reit-place, right time

After a torrential downpour ahead of kick-off, the rain ceased before a ball was kicked and it was the Blues who got the game underway in our traditional home blue strip. As the sun peered out from the behind the clouds, we began on the front foot and forced a succession of early corners from the left.

With seven minutes played, we broke the deadlock courtesy of Reiten. The Norwegian was left unmarked inside the penalty area, timing the run to perfection to meet Harder’s cross with her favoured left foot and slot past Janina Leitzig in the Leicester goal.

It was a purposeful start from the Blues who had conjured chances to extend their lead. Cuthbert found the side netting with a shot from the right, before Harder forced a low save from Leitzig at her near post.

We looked confident in possession and were playing free-flowing, eye-catching football with 15 minutes played. James was the next player to go close, weaving her magic to create space on the edge of the box before grazing the side netting with a left-footed effort.

Half a century

Our dominance was duly rewarded when we doubled our lead with 17 minutes on the clock via Cuthbert who netted her 50th goal for the club. She ran through one-on-one with Leitzig, rounding the goalkeeper and calmly slotting into an empty net, taking her goal tally in blue to half a century.

On the half-hour, the pace of the game had slowed momentarily as Leicester looked to wrestle back some control over proceedings while we continued to probe for a third goal, which came via Harder on 32 minutes when the Dane tucked home the rebound after James’ initial shot had been parried.

Leicester enjoyed a spell of possession with five minutes to go until half-time, searching for a ball forward but our central defensive duo of Carter and Magdalena Eriksson dealt confidently with the visitors' advances.

It was a dominant and clinical first-half showing from Emma Hayes’ side who added a fourth when Harder bagged her brace on 42 minutes. She drove at the Leicester defence, twisting and turning before passing the ball right-footed beyond Leitzig to give the Blues a four-goal lead at the break.

Just rewards

Leicester got the second half underway but we were swiftly back in the ascendancy. Cuthbert showed brilliant persistence to chase down and win back possession high up the pitch, picking out James who cut inside and fired over with a left-footed drive.

An intermittent shower did nothing to dampen our mood and we netted our fifth of the evening with 55 minutes played. James got her just rewards when she cut inside from the right, shaping to shoot before lashing the ball into the back of the net with her left foot.

On 63 minutes, we made four substitutions with Sophie Ingle, Jessie Fleming, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Alsu Abdullina all coming onto the pitch to replace Cuthbert, Reiten, James and Harder for the final 25 minutes of the match.

The visitors came close to pulling a goal back when a cross from the right was flicked on by a white shirt and trickled past Berger’s far post, much to the German goalkeeper’s relief who had commanded her box extremely well for the duration.

Valuable victory

With 15 minutes remaining, Eriksson made way for Buchanan who got some much-needed minutes on her return from injury. Leicester continued to look for a consolation goal, but we stood firm and looked to manage the game as the clock ticked down towards full-time.

We came close to adding a sixth goal when Cankovic played the ball into the path of Rytting Kaneryd inside the penalty area. The visiting goalkeeper stood tall to charge down the Swede’s attempt on goal.

A sixth goal arrived in stoppage time when Cankovic took hold of the ball from the edge of the box and drove an unstoppable effort beyond Leitzig, adding some gloss to a clinical display on home soil.

After three minutes of stoppage time, the referee brought an end to proceedings in pouring rain to ensure we claimed another valuable three points, moving to within one point of league leaders Manchester United in the quest to defend our title.

What’s next?

The Blues will begin preparations for the eagerly anticipated Vitality Women’s FA Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday, with a record attendance expected at the sell-out showpiece event.

This match will kick-off at 2.30pm (UK time) under the famous arch and for supporters who cannot attend, the game has been selected for live television broadcast on BBC One.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Berger; Perisset, Eriksson (Buchanan 75), Carter, Charles; Cuthbert (Ingle 63), Leupolz ; Reiten (Abdullina 63), Cankovic, James (Rytting Kaneryd 63); Harder (Fleming 63)

Unused Subs: Musovic, Svitkova, Mjelde, Kerr.

Scorers: Reiten (7), Cuthbert (17), Harder (32, 42), James (55), Cankovic (90)

Booked: Fleming (71)

Leicester City (4-2-3-1): Leitzig; Bott, Purfield, Mace, Nevin; Green (Robinson 63), Tierney; Whelan, Goodwin, Siemsen (O’Brien 75); Cain (Pike 75)

Unused Subs: Lambourne, Levell, Jones, Smith, Reavill.

Booked: Cain (72)

Referee: Rebecca Welch