Lauren Hemp believes Manchester City have transformed since the turn of the year and Sunday’s visit of Chelsea to the Academy Stadium offers the chance to show the progress made since back-to-back defeats at the start of the season which have seen City fly under the radar in the Women’s Super League title race.
“You’ve seen a different side to Man City, too,” the forward says. “A more dominating side. We’ve beaten Arsenal, which shows that we are capable of [beating the top teams] and it’s important that we carry that on. It did take a little while for those coming in to get used to everyone, to get used to the style of play, to find different connections and work well together. That has grown over the season. And it’s a perfect time for it to now be working, coming towards the end of the season where the trophies are up for grabs.”
Six months on from that faltering start, only the WSL leaders and title holders, Chelsea, have had a better run in the league and a win will move City above their long-time rivals for the first time this season.
“At the start of the season some people did write us off,” says Hemp. “That’s only natural considering we did lose a couple of games then and we weren’t quite at it. But, with the number of signings we made and the new people coming in and leaving the club, it was only natural that was going to happen.”
There is only one trophy left for City to win, with last Sunday’s defeat by Aston Villa seeing them exit the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage. In many respects, having only one chance at silverware is frustrating, but City’s calendar is now clear to focus on the title race.
Their game against Chelsea is sandwiched between the London club’s two Champions League quarter-final legs with the holders, Lyon. Meanwhile, Arsenal have to overcome a 1-0 first-leg defeat by Bayern Munich before they also travel north to face City, next Sunday. “It’s going to be more physically demanding for them,” says Hemp. “But our focus is on us.
“We know that we need to be the best prepared. They’ve both got some tough games coming up in the Champions League. And we’d much rather be in that position, preparing for a Champions League game, but unfortunately that’s not the case and we need to make sure that we use that to our advantage.”
Last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Villa hurt. “The result at the weekend was really disappointing,” says Hemp. “We wanted more, we expected more. We’ve got so much respect for Aston Villa, we knew that they were going to be tough, we haven’t beaten them yet this season. We all couldn’t fault anyone’s work ethic or anything like that. We all put in everything we had until the final whistle. And I think it just comes down to the technical actions. We had a lot of chances, we had a lot more chances than them but we didn’t manage to put them away.”
Hemp has scored three league goals for City this season. Because of the way she exploded on to the national and international stage at such a young age it is easy to forget that she is only 22 and still developing. “The main thing for me, and what I set out to do at the start of the season, is to be more consistent with everything that I do,” she says. “It’s something that I’ve been working on the last few seasons as well. I know that on my day I can be unstoppable. But it’s important to do that every single week without fail.
“I do put a lot of pressure on myself to perform. I think that’s only natural. Obviously I’m still young. But I put pressure on myself to make sure that I perform at the highest level possible because I know that at times I have been performing up there. It’s always hard to top that or match that.
“This season, to be brutally honest, I wouldn’t say I’ve been at my best every single game. I’ve put in good performances but not fantastic performances, which is what I’m always striving towards. I’m my own worst critic and I can recognise that.
“It’s important to focus on getting better and trying not to add pressure because ultimately, when I’m enjoying it I play my best football week in, week out.”
Chelsea are far from unbeatable, as Arsenal showed in their 3-1 win against the west London side in the Continental League Cup final, but Emma Hayes’s side are riding high after a 1-0 defeat of Lyon in France.
Should City lose, though, the title will feel very far away, with Arsenal and a Manchester derby on the horizon. Chelsea have just one game against another top-four side, Arsenal, after their trip to the Academy Stadium.
“Every game is a must-win now, until the end of the season,” says Hemp. “It’s important that we go into this weekend with the right mentality, the right mindset.”
