Chelsea had to make do without the attacking threat of Kerr for a long time, but now she is back from injury and showing exactly what we have been missing out on.

The Australian striker is becoming increasingly involved in the team as Bompastor eases her back into action following a long lay-off, coming off the bench on Saturday and netting our second goal of a 2-0 victory over London City Lionesses in the Women’s Super League.

It was Kerr’s first goal at Stamford Bridge since returning and came at a crucial time, ending the visitors' hopes of a late equaliser during a tense finale.

‘I’m really pleased for Sam, she's been building up her minutes,’ said Bompastor. ‘She was able to play more minutes with the national team. She's getting back to a good level.

‘Yesterday, she came in and made an impact on the game. She got a crucial goal for the team. Her goal meant the game was over, even if it was in added time.

‘It was nice for her, for her confidence and also for the team. Hopefully, we'll see Sam taking even more steps to get closer to her best level.’

The opening goal of the game had been scored by another Australian international, as Carpenter netted her first for the Blues since arriving in west London from Lyonnes over the summer.

Unusually, she featured as a right-wing-back against the Lionesses, with Sandy Baltimore on the opposite flank, while Lucy Bronze joined Millie Bright and Nathalie Bjorn in a back three.

It was a change of shape by Bompastor, including both regular right-backs Bronze and Carpenter in the starting XI, but one which paid off immediately with the latter’s goal in the fifth minute and opens up some interesting possibilities for the future.

‘It was good. Both of them had good performances. I think they made a big impact on the game,’ Sonia continued.

‘If I talk about them individually, Lucy did well on her first start with us this season – she was able to play the 90 minutes. I know how good Lucy is physically and she told me at the end of the game that playing in that position is probably not physically demanding enough. She has plenty of power in her body.

‘Ellie also had a really good performance. She was able to score a really important and early goal in the game.

‘I think both of them can play in different positions in that corridor on the right-hand side. That’s really good for me because when we speak about having depth in the squad and enough quality, it brings me different options going into every game.

‘We can play with a back three or a back four. We can play a triangle or a diamond in midfield. There are so many options and it’s good for me to have the players who are able to fit into those roles.’