Man City 2-0 Chelsea - WSL: Player ratings as Lauren Hemp shines in win against champions

Hemp was outstanding
Hemp was outstanding / Gareth Copley/GettyImages
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Manchester City swarmed Chelsea to go second in the Women's Super League after a commanding 2-0 victory over the west London side.

It seemed to be an even matchup in the opening minutes, but soon it was obvious that Manchester City were the better side.

Within 21 minutes they had scored their opening goal after Ann Katrin Berger sent the ball straight to Filippa Angeldahl who played a quick one-two with Lauren Hemp before firing a shot across Berger straight into the top corner.

After conceding, Chelsea looked more disjointed than ever, and City were happy to capitalise off their mistakes.

The visitors looked particularly vulnerable at the back, and it wasn't long before City doubled their lead after Kelly was able to breeze past Chelsea's defence, get a cross in to Laura Coombs who played it to Hemp who opted to smash it in first time.

Despite Emma Hayes making several changes throughout both halves, Chelsea never looked up for the match, and were overwhelmingly poor both with and without the ball. The second half was a formality for Gareth Taylor's side who continued to threaten until the final whistle and saw out the win.

The loss for Chelsea means that they lose their spot at the top of the table to Manchester United, and slip to third, though with a game in hand.


Man City player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Ellie Roebuck - 7/10 - Didn't have much to do against a poor Chelsea side.

RB: Esme Morgan - 8/10 - Had lots of joy getting forward.

CB: Steph Houghton - 8/10 - Was able to limit Chelsea to little chances, kept Kerr isolated.

CB: Alex Greenwood - 8/10 - Helped Houghton in keeping Kerr quiet, and was constantly organising the defence.

LB: Laia Aleixandri - 8/10 - Also found joy moving forward and staying wide.

CM: Filippa Angeldahl - 8/10 - Took her goal well, and kept it steady in midfield.

CM: Yui Hasegawa - 8/10 - Showed how press resistant she can be and demonstrated her incredible passing range.

AM: Laura Coombs - 8/10 - Was involved in build-up play, and getting the ball forward quickly and efficiently.

RW: Chloe Kelly - 8/10 - Worked tirelessly to attack Chelsea's backline, was a helpful link between midfield and attack.

ST: Khadija Shaw - 6/10 - An uncharacteristic off day for Bunny, but she won't care much after the victory.

LW: Lauren Hemp - 9/10 - Was a menace for Chelsea's backline, and was constantly creating space, chances, and goal-scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates.


Substitutes

SUB: Julie Blakstad (78' for Lauren Hemp ) - 8/10


Manager

Gareth Taylor - 9/10 - Got his team selection right, and knew how to exploit this Chelsea side.


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Chelsea player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Ann Katrin Berger - 5/10 - Somewhat at fault for the first goal, and was unable to organise her backline throughout the match.

RB: Jess Carter - 3/10 - Was not a good day for Chelsea's backline. Carter could not handle the speed of Hemp, and was not aware of her surroundings for both goals.

CB: Maren Mjelde - 4/10 - Chelsea's centre-back pairings without Millie Bright leave much to be desired. Mjelde also struggled against Hemp, and it's clear she isn't as fast and as agile as she once was.

CB: Magdalena Eriksson - 4/10 - Similar to Mjelde, just never looked comfortable and assured while defending.

LB: Kadeisha Buchanan - 3/10 - Struggled with City's inside runs and could not get forward much.

CM: Melanie Leupolz - 3/10 - Unable to progress the ball to her attacking players, and easily pressed by City's midfield.

CM: Sophie Ingle - 3/10 - Looked exausted from the first whistle, which may have been why she was taken off so early.

AM: Guro Reiten - 5/10 - Crosses weren't coming off, and was rarely able to get the ball from midfield, and joining the attack without getting it nicked off her.

RW - Lauren James - 6/10 - Was Chelsea's best attacking outlet in the early stages of the game, but was then hooked after 36 minutes. Did not look happy to be taken off.

ST - Sam Kerr - 5/10 - Incredibly isolated up top, and was unable to make much impact.

LW - Erin Cuthbert - 5/10 - Wasn't at her best, and then forced to hobble off down the tunnel after an injury late in the game.

Substitutes

SUB: Niamh Charles (36' for Sophie Ingle) - 4/10 - Had little impact on the game.

SUB: Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (36' for Lauren James) - 4/10 - Unable to affect the match much after coming on.

SUB: Jelena Cankovic (67' for Maren Mjelde) - 5/10 - Added some stability but inaffective going forward.

SUB: Jessie Fleming (80' for Erin Cuthbert) - 5/10

Manager

Emma Hayes - 2/10 - Tactics to start were all wrong, and her subs were questionable at best.