Why Lionesses No.1 Hannah Hampton is even more important to Chelsea this season

To spin a negative into a positive, that Hampton has experience dealing with this sort of difficult situation before is likely to be helpful. Speaking to ITV in the summer, ahead of her first tournament as the Lionesses' No.1, she admitted it had been "hard at times" to deal with the negative media attention, before adding: "I think it's changed me to almost not care what people think. Just go prove people wrong. Let them have their say, but it's not going to affect me."

She showed that during the Euros, producing numerous outstanding performances on England's run to the title. Her penalty shootout heroics in the quarter-final win over Sweden and then to defeat Spain in the final were particularly memorable, while her brilliant save to deny Italy a second, game-clinching goal in the dying embers of the semi-final should not be overlooked. Without it, Michelle Agyemang's late strike would've counted for nothing.

"It's hard when you see English fans not want you in goal, not want you in the team," she said, referring to the reaction from some as she usurped Earps into the starting position. There can't be many with that opinion now, though, after what she did in the summer.

Hampton's performance last Saturday, in Chelsea's 2-0 win over London City Lionesses, was further evidence of her mental resilience. Sure, it was by no means the busiest day at the office she'll have, forced into just three routine saves by the newly-promoted big spenders. But her positioning was excellent, allowing her to sweep up on several occasions, most crucially in the latter stages to deny Isobel Goodwin a potential chance to equalise. She was switched on, error-free and played like someone who wasn't dominating the headlines in a situation completely out of her control.

"I think Hannah is fine,” Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said after the game. “It’s tough because Hannah is an athlete but also a person and it is never nice to hear these comments. The only thing I want to say about Hannah is that, since I joined Chelsea, she has grown so much. She’s such a professional athlete and also a good person. We have a really good relationship together and I want to show her my support in this situation."

Saturday's performance and clean sheet was a continuation of the strong form Hampton has shown at the beginning of the new season, something that has carried over from the previous campaign and, of course, a monumental summer. With a division-best four clean sheets from her first seven Women's Super League games, the England shot-stopper has made a formidable start in her quest to retain the Golden Glove award, delivering displays that have helped Chelsea to remain unbeaten and at the top of the table.

Only Khiara Keating, one of England's most recent debutantes, has conceded fewer goals than Hampton at this point, albeit having only played twice for Manchester City. Among WSL goalkeepers to play three or more games, Hampton leads that category. She also has the highest save percentage (85.7) in the division and, according to expected goals (xG) statistics, has prevented 1.5 goals, producing a positive differential between her xG and her actual goals conceded that only Brighton's Chiamaka Nnadozie (1.7) can better.

That sort of difference-making in between the sticks has been important ever since Hampton arrived at Chelsea back in 2023 - but it might be even more so this year. Last term, the Blues' treble-winning success was built on a solid defence more than anything else. This time around, though, Bompastor's side are conceding significantly more shots, shots on target, key passes and shot-creating actions. Indeed, Chelsea allowed the second-fewest of all of the latter three in the WSL last season. This time around, they have conceded the fourth-most shot-creating actions and the fifth-most shots and key passes. That's quite a notable difference.

"[It's] probably because we want to take more risks in our game," Bompastor said last month, asked about the defence looking a little leakier. "Sometimes, depending on my starting XI, we have a lot of offensive players on the pitch and I think that's okay. We want to be a team who want to dominate the opposition. We also want to have a team who take risks on the pitch going forward. So sometimes, depending on the games, in terms of balance, we focus more on in-possession [things] and how we can create and how we can move the ball forward on the pitch, rather than maybe trying to defend more.

"That's okay for me. This is what we want to achieve as a team. I know going into every game, maybe the plan will change a little bit, so it's always important to find the right balance between in and out of possession. But, again, I think I'm someone who really likes to take the risks. We want to be offensive."

It's undoubtedly easier for Bompastor to assume this approach when she has arguably the best goalkeeper in the world guarding the net at the other end. Just a few weeks after winning the first-ever Women's Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, Hampton's claim to that title was strengthened this week by her nomination into the FIFPRO World XI for the first time. While the awards have come in for their fair share of criticism, not least due to the absence of Ballon d'Or runner-up Mariona Caldentey, it does say a lot that Hampton was picked out by her fellow professionals as the most difficult goalkeeper to beat in the women's game. 

She proved that last season, when her excellent performances helped Chelsea achieve an unprecedented unbeaten domestic campaign and she proved it even further in the summer, when she justified Wiegman's decision to make her England's No.1 by starring in the Lionesses' run to another European Championship title.

Amid the debate and discussion caused by Earps' remarks, the attention on Hampton is intense again. It comes as Chelsea approach a run of fixtures of particular importance, too. The Blues make the short journey across London to face Arsenal on Saturday, looking to boost their own WSL title charge while dealing a blow to that of the Gunners, just as they have begun to reverse some poor form.

Not long after that, the Champions League is back, with a clash against Barcelona looming on November 20. Chelsea were brutally beaten by the Catalans in last year's semi-finals, losing 8-2 on aggregate as Barca ended the Blues' European dream in the last four for the third season in a row. The whole team will be incredibly motivated to get one over their visitors and that includes Hampton, who will not have enjoyed picking the ball out of the back of her net that frequently, even if she was hardly to blame for any of the goals conceded.

These are huge games on big stages. They provide great opportunities, then, for the England No.1 to remind everyone just why she has earned the trust of Emma Hayes, Wiegman and now Bompastor. It's because she is a world-class goalkeeper who is only getting better and better.