Manchester City Women are top of the Women's Super League — for a few hours at least. Lauren Hemp struck the winner just 122 seconds after London City Lionesses had equalised, sealing a 2-1 away victory in a top-of-the-table thriller that showed exactly why Andree Jeglertz's champions keep finding a way.
This was second against third, and for long spells it was the hosts who played like the team at the summit. London City pressed high, wasted the chances their pressure created, and twice had the ball cleared off the City line — yet still went home with nothing, their nine-match unbeaten run ended by the most ruthless visitors in the division.
Earps Keeps City Out, Rose Keeps London City Out
The first half was a story of two goal lines. Mary Earps produced an outstanding save to tip Rebecca Knaak's header onto the post and off the line, keeping City out when the champions looked certain to score. At the other end, Jade Rose blocked an Isobel Goodwin effort off the line late in the half, then did it again early in the second, throwing herself in front of a Grace Geyoro header that looked destined for the net.
The breakthrough, when it came on 53 minutes, was pure Bunny Shaw. Played in by Hemp after an incisive City move cut through the home defence, the Jamaican rounded the onrushing Earps, steadied herself and smashed the ball high into the net — her 11th goal of the campaign. Shaw later rattled the post from a Mary Fowler pass, and the miss so nearly cost City dearly.
On 72 minutes, London City got the equaliser their performance deserved. A teasing Mapi Leon corner was met by Jana Fernandez, whose clever looping header found the far corner. The home crowd sensed a famous win. They got 122 seconds of hope. As Reuters reports, Hemp's decisive goal arrived just after the equaliser — and as the club's own match report tells it, Fowler crossed to the far post and Hemp beat Fernandez — the scorer turned villain — to guide the ball home and restore the lead almost before the celebrations had stopped.
Champions Win the Games They Should Draw
City then did what title winners do: they defended the box, slowed the game, and saw it out. Sam Coffey's return from injury, a little over 30 minutes off the bench in the fixture where she made her City debut earlier this year, helped lock the midfield down. Knaak, in her first full 90 minutes of the season, was immense at the back.
The win is City's 14th match unbeaten in all competitions, and it follows the pattern of their season — brilliant in Europe one week, relentless in the league the next, as their recent European draw with Paris Saint-Germain showed. Even in the derby, where they needed a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United, this side refused to lose. London City, backed by serious investment and sitting third, were supposed to be the test of whether that run was built on sand. It was not.
So What?
City move onto 22 points from eight games, six clear of third-placed London City — but they may not end the day on top. Chelsea, the side they have just overhauled, play bottom club Charlton Athletic later on Sunday and will reclaim first place with a win. The title race, in other words, is now a weekly game of leapfrog between the two richest squads in England, and London City's defeat is a reminder of the gap the chasing pack still has to close: they outplayed the champions for an hour and still lost.
Elsewhere in the WSL on Sunday, Arsenal's underwhelming start continued with a 1-1 home draw against Aston Villa, Alessia Russo rescuing a point with an 85th-minute equaliser that leaves the Gunners sixth on 10 points. City's next test is West Ham at home on Saturday, and on this evidence, dropping points is simply not in their script.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This is what champions look like. City were second best for long spells, survived two goalline clearances, conceded an equaliser with 18 minutes to play — and won anyway, inside two minutes, because Hemp and Shaw are the most decisive pairing in the WSL. London City are close, genuinely close, but close does not take points off this team. Our verdict: the title is City's to lose, whatever Chelsea do later today. Can anyone actually beat this City side over 90 minutes? Tell us in the comments.
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