WSL winner and loser: Hemp has Man City riding high as record-breaking Chelsea star embarrassed | OneFootball

Could Manchester City break Chelsea’s stranglehold on the Women’s Super League? Lauren Hemp’s return suggests they just might, as does Millie Bright being hooked at half-time.

Winner: Lauren Hemp

With Chelsea winning the previous six WSL titles, last season by a margin of 12 points having won 19 and drawn three of their 22 games, Manchester City – who themselves finished 17 points behind them – could quite reasonably have considered their challenge all but over this term after an opening-day defeat to the Blues.

But eight consecutive wins for Andree Jeglertz’s team, combined with some fairly inert football from Chelsea this season, makes City a decent bet to upset the WSL apple cart at the very least. And Lauren Hemp’s stunning goal served to illustrate just how good a job Jeglertz has done so far in his first season in charge and forewarned Chelsea that the best of City may well be yet to come.

City had been without two-time Euros winner Hemp for their previous five games, but won all five before she announced her return with a right-footed bolt from outside the box, somehow both placing and smashing the ball into the top corner.

Grace Clinton, Sydney Lohmann and Rebecca Knaak also returned to bolster the quality of a squad which Jeglertz has masterfully used the depth of to not only maintain a challenge to Chelsea but go ahead of them, with their three-point lead very significant indeed as we approach the halfway point in the season.

Loser: Millie Bright

A game to forget for Chelsea, who responded to City’s derby win on Saturday night with a dismal 1-1 draw against Liverpool, who lost their opening six games of the season and are now bottom of the table despite this highly creditable draw as West Ham ended their misery marriage with the Reds by beating Everton.

This could be a very costly result for Sonia Bompastor’s side, whose three draws in their opening nine WSL games of the campaign means they’ve dropped the same number of points as they did across the whole of last season.

Alyssa Thompson gave the Blues the lead with a fine curled finish after cutting in on her right in the ninth minute, but Chelsea failed to register another shot on target as Liverpool remained resolute in defence.

By avoiding defeat Chelsea set a new WSL record of 34 games unbeaten, but the mood at full-time was far from jubilant, with Bright particularly downcast having celebrated setting a new WSL appearance record of 211 games with a first-half performance to suggest her 32 years are catching up with her.

She was hooked at the break after frequently giving the ball away and was comically outpaced as Beata Olsson ran from the halfway line to equalise for Liverpool.