Chelsea returned to winning ways with a crucial victory over Tottenham in the Women's Super League to keep their hopes of finishing in the top three on track.

External noise had been building around Chelsea all week with the defending champions' defeat by Manchester City leaving them 12 points adrift of the top.

Manager Sonia Bompastor was facing scrutiny before the club announced on Friday that she had signed a contract extension, keeping her at Chelsea until 2030.

However, with some supporters still unconvinced, it was important her side delivered at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and consolidated their position.

England midfielder Keira Walsh put the Blues in front against the run of play in the first half, before Alyssa Thompson doubled their tally shortly after the restart.

Defeat was a blow for a Tottenham side who have exceeded expectations this season and were just a point behind Chelsea before kick-off.

They were the better team for the majority of the first half and hit the crossbar through Olivia Holdt.

However, Chelsea demonstrated their ruthless streak when it mattered most to ease the pressure after back-to-back defeats.

That Spurs were just a point behind Chelsea before kick-off was proof of their remarkable revival under manager Martin Ho and the progress they have made in a short time.

They finished second-bottom last season, sacking former boss Robert Vilahamn as a result, but have put themselves in a position to challenge for a Champions League spot.

They have been so entertaining this season that even legendary American singer Madonna was in the stands to watch, a day after two of her daughters played for Spurs in an under-14s match.

Chelsea were vulnerable after a damaging few weeks and Tottenham did not show any mercy, taking the game to the defending champions and causing them all sorts of problems in the first half.

After half an hour Tottenham had 11 shots to Chelsea's three and hit the crossbar with Holdt's fizzing strike.

January signing Signe Gaupset continued to show her quality and fellow new addition Julie Blakstad was a threat down Tottenham's left side.

So, it came as a huge blow when Walsh rifled Chelsea in front against the run of play with six minutes of the first half remaining.

With the DJ playing a remix of Madonna's song Vogue as the players left the pitch at half-time, Spurs needed a lift having got no reward for their efforts up to that point.

But it was Chelsea who struck again when Hanna Wijk's lack of concentration allowed Sjoeke Nusken to sneak in behind the Tottenham defence and her shot rebounded to Thompson to make it 2-0.

The costly result harms Tottenham's chances of crashing the WSL's top four and sneaking into a European qualification spot.

However, there was plenty in their performance to please Tottenham boss Ho and they proved yet again this season they are a hard team to beat.

"People are upset, people are disappointed. That shows a totally different mindset and mentality to what we've had before," said Ho.

"Even though the players face one of the top teams, they should expect to win and they want to win. Whether that's realistic or not for people on the outside, the group expects to win.

"I'm looking at a lot of that first half with the chances we create. We're in super positions. You just need one or two of those to sink in."

Noise has been building on social media over the past two weeks as Chelsea's title challenge collapsed with costly defeats by Arsenal and Manchester City, leaving them off the pace.

Fans have debated manager Bompastor's tactics and the Frenchwoman had to answer questions about her position at the club last weekend.

But Chelsea showed their faith in the coach who led them to an unbeaten domestic treble in her debut season by announcing her long-term deal on Friday.

While that was already agreed before their form took a significant dip, the timing of Chelsea's announcement felt deliberate and probably done with the intention of quietening noise.

It was important, therefore, they produced the goods at Tottenham and maintained control of their Champions League qualification hopes.

The first-half performance did little to silence the critics as Tottenham were the better team and created more chances until Walsh's strike.

Bompastor, consistently understated and calm in the dugout, was picked up by a member of her staff and spun around in celebration while Chelsea players embraced goalscorer Walsh.

It put them in control, having spent the majority of the match on the back foot, and Chelsea showed their enduring class with the second through Thompson.

With pressure on and results a necessity, this was much needed by Chelsea, but the overall performance did little to ease concerns that they are falling behind their rivals this season.

Bompastor stressed a key part of their regression has been a lack of squad depth, caused by injuries, and it was shown at Spurs as teenagers Lexi Potter and Chloe Sarwie came off the bench, while captain Millie Bright hobbled off late on with a foot issue.

There is still work to do to ensure Chelsea finish in the top three, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal not leaving any room for error - and they need players back to full fitness quickly if they hope to progress in Europe.

Tottenham are on the road as they take on Aston Villa in their next WSL game on Sunday, 15 February (12:00 GMT).

Chelsea host Liverpool on the same day (12:00) as they bid to keep up the pressure on their top-three rivals.

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