Man City have bit between their teeth in WSL title bid – Lauren Hemp

Lauren Hemp believes Manchester City have the “bit between their teeth” as they target Women’s Super League glory this season.

Unbeaten City are currently top of the WSL table and sit one point above rivals Chelsea, who have a game in hand.

Hemp has played a major role for City so far this season, scoring two goals and providing two assists.

The forward’s performances saw her scoop October’s Barclays Player of the Month award and she praised the resilience shown by her team, who staged impressive comebacks in two games last month.

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“(Coming) from losing positions, it’s not a place where we want to be,” Hemp told the PA news agency.

“But I feel like if we’d done that at times last season, we might not have necessarily got the result that we wanted.

“You’ve got to experience games like that to show you can come back from them, it’s important that we do that.

“Sometimes you have got to win ugly and things don’t look as pretty as you want them to, but it’s important that we have that side to our game as well, not just the nice possession that we all want to do.

“We’re able to fight and be resilient to get those goals back.”

City have only dropped two points so far after drawing with Arsenal in September, but they have since won their last five straight WSL matches.

Although they were in a strong position to clinch a first WSL trophy since 2016, last season ended in disappointment after a dramatic finale saw Chelsea snatch the title on goal difference.

The Blues remain hot on City’s heels in the current campaign but Hemp believes her side have entered this year with a “real fight” to win the title.

“I think we’ve come into the start of the season with a real fight and hunger to want to go on and win the league,” she added.

“Obviously we came so close last season and couldn’t quite make it, so I feel like we’ve got that bit between our teeth this season that we want to go on and achieve that.

“We know we can’t afford to drop any points this season. It’s just about sticking to the process and I think we’ve done that as well.”

This season also marks City’s return to the Champions League proper for the first time since 2020-21.

They sit top of Group D after two games and started the campaign in style with a 2-0 win over reigning champions Barcelona, a match Hemp described as a “turning point” for City.

She said: “I feel like we’ve done really well in it so far. Obviously it’s not an easy group going into the competition, especially against a team like Barcelona who we’ve got so much respect for.

“Just that game I feel was a massive turning point for this team.

“I feel like we really believed in the squad, the process of how we were going to win the game and we managed to do that on the pitch and make a real statement. I feel like we’ve only grown and grown since.

“It’s great being part of the Champions League, obviously we’re in it to win it. We want to win the thing, but it’s important that we take every game at a time.”

Hemp also celebrated further personal success this year after being nominated for the Ballon d’Or, something she admitted came as a surprise.

“I got tagged on their Instagram post, which is the first way I found out,” Hemp said.

“It was a nice surprise, nice to be recognised and nominated for that award.

“My aim every year is to do as well as I can for the club and like I said, whatever comes next is just a bonus.”