Sam Kerr was out with an ACL injury for 20 months
At a glance
Chelsea's Hannah Hampton starts after extract release of Mary Earps' book
Ellie Carpenter puts Chelsea ahead and Sam Kerr scores off bench
London City Lionesses come close to equaliser on several occasions
Sam Kerr scored as Chelsea maintained their one-point lead at the top of the Women's Super League with a hard-earned victory over London City Lionesses.
Summer signing Ellie Carpenter scored the opener, following up at the back post to thump home Sandy Baltimore's cross.
Carpenter was one of the standout performers before being replaced in the second half by Kerr, who marked her Stamford Bridge WSL return after injury.
Still returning to full fitness and having featured only in patches, Kerr ran out to a warm applause and capped her performance by lobbing goalkeeper Elene Lete in stoppage time.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor played with a back three that included England defender Lucy Bronze, who managed the full 90 minutes having recently returned from injury herself.
It was a professional display from the champions, who scored early and kept things tight at the back despite London City impressing for large spells.
Newly promoted London City are still feeling their way into the league after a heavy recruitment period in the summer, but they are proving to be tough opponents.
They responded well to going a goal down and created numerous opportunities on the counter-attack, although both sides managed only three shots on target.
In the end, it was three valuable points for Chelsea, who maintain their lead over Manchester City at the top of the table, while London City suffered their fourth defeat of the season.
It was a welcome clean sheet for Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, whose name was brought into the headlines on Friday night following the release of extracts from ex-England team-mate Mary Earps' new book in which she described Hampton as being a "disruptive and unreliable" character.
Analysis: Chelsea win battles out wide as Kerr makes mark
Hampton drew unwanted attention following Earps' comments and it was not ideal preparation for her going into Saturday's early kick-off, straight off the back of the international break.
But the 24-year-old, who has chosen not to respond to Earps' words, did not look fazed when she ran out, smiling and getting into her normal pre-match routine.
She was rarely tested despite London City creating numerous chances, the best falling to Izzy Goodwin in the first half.
Instead, it was a battle that was largely played on the wings. Bronze started on the right side of defence, allowing Carpenter to push forward ahead of her.
Baltimore, on the left-hand side, was her usual tricky self and it was her neat footwork which opened up space for her to cross and pick out Carpenter for Chelsea's opener.
London City quickly responded, reforming their organised structure and finding ways to threaten Chelsea.
Goodwin had several chances to bag an equaliser, coming close late in the second half before Kerr's cheeky lob wrapped up victory.
London City have grown with each game in the WSL and are now a competitive outfit who could prove to be real disrupters in the second half of the campaign.
"We had the chances and against Chelsea you cannot have 20. We had five or six strong chances in that game," said manager Jocelyn Precheur.
"If you want to get points against the champions then you have to be efficient. I regret at half-time coming in 1-0 down as I think we had chances.
"But there were a lot of positive things. What I like is we can start to see a team, which was my biggest challenge at the start of the season. On that point, I am satisfied."
London City were boosted by the quick recoveries of Freya Godfrey and Goodwin from minor injuries this week, but they could not quite match Chelsea's depth on the bench.
London City owner Michele Kang, in the stands alongside former USA forward Megan Rapinoe and basketball star Sue Bird, will have been given plenty of encouragement.
What's next for both teams?
Chelsea travel to Emirates Stadium to meet rivals Arsenal in the WSL on 8 November at 12:00 GMT.
London City return to Hayes Lane on 9 November at 11:55, when they welcome Tottenham in the WSL.
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