Lauren Hemp’s second goal against Liverpool arrived in the 95th minute and made it 4–2 to Manchester City.
It capped a night in which she scored twice, put all five of her shots on target, created four chances and delivered five accurate crosses.
It was the clearest individual performance of City’s season so far.
And it raises a bigger question:
Could this be Hemp’s best WSL season yet?
Three matches cannot answer that. But they can tell us whether this start looks different from the ones that came before.
So far, it does.
Hemp has two goals, one assist, 14 shots, 15 chances created and 43 touches in the opposition box.
She is shooting more than she did across the opening three appearances of any of the previous three seasons, while still creating chances at a very high rate.
In other words, she is still creating for others, but she is also becoming more of a goal threat herself.
Five days before the Liverpool game, her assist at Aston Villa took her to 100 WSL goal contributions — 52 goals and 48 assists at that point.
The benchmark: 2023–24
If we are asking whether this could be Hemp’s best WSL season, we need something to compare it against.
For a full season, 2023–24 is the obvious benchmark.
Hemp scored 11 goals and supplied eight assists, giving her 19 direct goal involvements in 21 appearances. She also led the WSL for assists.
Her numbers were actually better on a per-minute basis in 2024–25, but there is an important bit of context: she played only 730 league minutes before a knee injury interrupted her season.
So for a full campaign — combining output, availability and influence — 2023–24 is the season to beat.
And that gives us a useful target for this season.
With three matches already played, City still have 23 league matches remaining. Hemp would need nine more goals and seven more assists to match her 2023–24 totals.
There is one important thing to note, though: the WSL expanded from 12 to 14 teams this season, meaning clubs now play 26 league matches instead of 22.
So there are four more league matches available this season than there were when Hemp set that 2023–24 benchmark.
Her scoring rate so far is comfortably ahead of what she would need. Her assist rate is also ahead of the rate required to match that benchmark.
To go beyond the 2023–24 benchmark rather than simply match it, Hemp would need at least 12 league goals or 20 combined goals and assists.
But after only three matches, simply projecting those numbers across the season doesn’t tell us much.
The more interesting question is whether something in her role has changed.
Is Hemp getting more opportunities to score while still creating at the level we have come to expect from her?
The early numbers suggest she might be.
Every recent start compared
The best way to see whether this start is actually different is to compare it with how Hemp began previous seasons.
So rather than comparing full-season numbers, we looked at her first three league appearances in each of the last four seasons.
There is one small detail worth noting. In 2023–24, Hemp did not play in City’s third league match against Bristol City, so her third appearance came in Round 4.
In terms of chance creation, 2024–25 is the closest comparison. Hemp created 5.04 chances per 90 across those first three appearances, almost identical to her 5.00 per 90 this season.
But there is one number that really stands out.
Hemp is getting into the opposition box far more often than in any of those previous starts.
So far this season, Hemp is averaging 14.33 box touches per 90. In 2024–25, the next-highest of these four starts, that figure was 6.12.
That is more than double.
The opening three matches
The overall numbers tell us that Hemp’s start looks different. But the three matches also show how that has developed game by game.
Birmingham City
Hemp did not score or assist, but there was plenty happening underneath those headline numbers.
She created seven chances, the most by any player in the match, produced 0.93 xA and had 16 touches in the opposition box.
So even without a goal or assist, she was heavily involved.
Aston Villa
This was where the scoring threat became much clearer.
Hemp registered an assist, but she also produced 0.98 xG and 1.03 xA. Her combined 2.01 xG+xA was the highest of any player on the pitch.
She wasn’t just creating chances for others. She was also getting into positions to finish chances herself.
Liverpool
And against Liverpool, we saw both sides of her game.
Hemp scored twice from 1.06 xG, created four chances and produced 0.70 xA. All five of her shots were on target.
She also led the match for goals, chances created, big chances created, xA, shots on target and accurate crosses.
This is what makes the start so interesting: Hemp isn’t having to choose between creating and scoring. So far, she is doing both.
One game isn’t enough to say this is the new normal.
But across the first three matches, we have already seen Hemp create at a high level, get into the box regularly and become more of a goal threat herself.
What has changed?
For wide players, there is often a trade-off. If you start shooting more, you may end up creating less for others. And if most of your job is creating chances, you may not get into scoring positions as often.
So far, that hasn’t been the case with Hemp.
She has taken 14 shots, which works out at 4.67 per 90 — higher than her first-three-appearance rate in each of the previous three seasons.
At the same time, she is creating 5.00 chances per 90, well above her full-season rate of 2.31 in 2023–24.
But the biggest difference is how often she is getting into the box.
Hemp has already had 43 touches in the opposition box, or 14.33 per 90. That is well above her full-season rate in each of the previous three campaigns.
Those numbers may come down as the sample gets bigger. Three matches is still three matches.
But the gap in box touches is difficult to ignore.
In fact, her current box-touch rate could fall by more than 40% and still be above her 2023–24 rate of 8.18 per 90.
That is why this looks like more than just a good run of finishing. Hemp is getting into scoring areas much more often while still creating chances for others.
How much of City’s attack runs through her?
Hemp is not doing it alone. Khadija Shaw remains a huge part of City’s attack.
But Hemp’s share of their chance creation is hard to miss.
She has created 15 of City’s 52 chances (28.8%), produced 2.66 of their 7.01 xA (37.9%) and created six of their 15 big chances (40.0%).
With 14 accurate crosses, she also account for 53.8% of City’s total.
So far, more than a third of City’s xA and 40% of their big chances have come from Hemp.
Her 2.66 xA has resulted in only one assist, so the assist total doesn’t quite show how much she has created so far.
Her 2.20 xG tells us something else too. She isn’t just taking more shots — she is getting good chances to score too.
Is this enough to call it her best season?
Not yet.
Three matches is still a very small sample, especially when the benchmark is her full 2023–24 season.
And 2024–25 is a good reminder of how quickly an excellent start can be interrupted.
But three matches are enough to make the question worth asking.
Hemp is creating chances at almost the same rate as she did at the start of 2024–25, while getting into the opposition box far more often. She is also taking more shots without losing the creative side of her game.
That combination is what makes this start different. She is still creating for others, but she is also getting herself into positions to score much more often.
Hemp’s next two league appearances should tell us a bit more.
If the shots and box touches are still at similar levels after five appearances, we’ll have stronger evidence that something has actually changed in her role.
And if that continues, then the question becomes even more interesting:
Could this really be Lauren Hemp’s best WSL season yet?