Pic: Chelsea FC

Fresh from their cup win at the weekend (above), Chelsea Women face Juventus tonight, with captain Magda Eriksson admitting: “The Champions League is special. A European win is at the back of our minds… that’s our goal.”

The Blues have curtailed any prolonged celebrations following Sunday’s FA Cup victory over Arsenal, with the partying restricted to swigs of bubbly in the dressing room after the presentation at Wembley.

“We’re never too good to lose,” added Eriksson, introducing a pre-match note of caution to the build-up to tonight’s fixture. “It’s going to be a tough game for us.”

But the captain thinks the current Blues squad is now at its all-time strongest, after small incremental changes over the past year or so. “In the circumstances it will be the toughest game of the season for us,” she said.

Emma Hayes said the team had learnt from a first final, and a heavy defeat, and was stronger for that.

She was immensely proud of her players’ performance at Wembley, but has stressed the need to hold the whoopee in check with such an important fixture looming.

Maren Mjelde and Lauren James are still doubts. Mjelde will not play for the Blues this side of Christmas, and James will also be held back until the new year.

Hayes laughed off the injury to Millie Bright’s head, caused by the top coming off the FA Cup as it was hoisted high. “Thankfully it’s made of steel… Sheffield steel,” she said of the defender.

Looking to tonight’s match, Hayes predicts that it will be “a really, really good game”. She added: “I’m impressed by Juventus as an outfit; they’ve got a good vision for the future.”

Hayes hopes that the Wembley experience will help boost fan numbers throughout the league. “I felt there was a more educated first-time fan [at Wembley]; people who have female role models, who know who the players are. Cup finals go beyond that game.”