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.