Erin Cuthbert silenced a big crowd at the Allianz Stadium when she put the Blues ahead after half an hour, but Barbara Bonansea equalised for the hosts six minutes later.

Pernille Harder put Chelsea ahead with 20 minutes remaining and the Blues withheld late pressure to secure the three points.

Hayes was particularly pleased with how her side overcame difficult moments to secure victory in Turin.

She said: ‘What a great place to come and play. This is an iconic stadium, a team that’s improving in Europe, a brilliant crowd and a tough atmosphere.

‘The game had everything. It was quite scrappy for us but once again we showed the ability to adapt to the demands of the game.

‘The performance from the team was mixed but I felt we were resilient enough. We took our chances when it mattered and that’s why we are the winning team.’

With the score at 1-1, Hayes brought Jessie Fleming into the action and made the switch to a back four.

Within a matter of minutes, Chelsea regained the lead courtesy of Harder and Hayes was delighted with how her team responded to the tactical change.

‘We really pushed in the second half,’ she added. ‘The final pass maybe let us down sometimes. We were in great situations, I don’t think Ann [Berger] had too much to do.

‘We had to make some tactical adjustments throughout the second half and the team was able to adapt to that.’

Wednesday’s win means the Blues have four points from our opening two group-stage fixtures.

Chelsea face Servette FCCF in Switzerland before the return fixture at Kingsmeadow, while our opening two opponents Wolfsburg and Juventus will face each other.

Hayes said: ‘We are in a strong position with four points and that’s the position we want to be in.

‘We know it’s not about away goals anymore, it’s about getting points on the board.

‘Our objectives are clear and we are one step closer to that.’