The skipper, who has been working her way back to fitness after a knee problem sustained while on international duty in June, was given a rousing reception by the Blues supporters when she was introduced after an hour on Sunday.

Cuthbert took over the armband from previous captain Millie Bright back in August, but had to wait until our 10th match of the campaign to make her first appearance since the news was announced.

Call it good fortune or merely a coincidence, but Lauren James scored our third goal only a minute after her introduction, with Sjoeke Nusken following up with our fourth shortly afterwards.

'It was a bit mental, a bit chaotic!' said Cuthbert afterwards. 'I came on, and we scored quite early, so that kind of settled the nerves a little bit.

'It's always tough to come in during a high-pressure game, but I loved every minute of being back on the pitch, and back at Stamford Bridge. When we're playing like that, it's a fun place.'

It has been four-and-a-half months of intense rehab work for Cuthbert to regain match fitness and now she is back she understands that she will have to earn her place in the team.

'Honestly, I felt so ready,' the midfielder continued. 'I had a few set-backs here and there during the recovery. I was targeting the start of the season, and it's five weeks in now, so that's how it went for me.

'I've been working hard in the background. It can be hard to be out when the team are doing really well, and although it's great to watch, I just want to be out there helping the team.

'We've got a single game week this week, and no one is going to know what to do with themselves. The competition is going to be high in training. We will have to perform if we want a place in the starting line-up, and that's what you want as a player.

'That's why I've been at a club like Chelsea for so long because I enjoy the competition. We've got so many really good players in the midfield and across the pitch competing in other positions, and I really thrive under pressure.

'Today it was about me coming on and trying to make an impact, and I got booked, so that's one way to make an impact!'

Cuthbert went on to detail exactly how head coach Sonia Bompastor drives the standards among the team, and how hard the players have to work to meet her expectations.

'I don't envy the manager's decision because she's got 25 international players to manage, and that's her job,' the captain explained. 'As players, we've got to make her job as hard as we possibly can, and over the course of the season, we are going to need everybody.

'We've got some real tough spells coming up. I think we've got another eight games in this block before the next international break so everybody will get their moment and it's about being ready to take it when it comes.

'Sonia demands standards in training every single day. She pushes you. She wants the best from her team, and she's ruthless. She wants a high press every single second. And if she doesn't get it from the people on the pitch, she'll get it from the people sitting on the side.'