Taking on a hugely experienced Bayern Munich side on their own turf was never going to be an easy task for the Blues, for whom several players were making their Champions League debuts.

And Maresca's side ultimately suffered a 3-1 loss at the Allianz Arena despite Cole Palmer's excellent goal on his 100th Blues appearance giving us hope going into half-time.

While the Blues head coach was disappointed that small moments and errors cost us in Germany, he believes the experience of competing in such a high-profile match against top opposition will only benefit his team going forward.

‘I think the players were already aware of how difficult this competition is,' reflected our head coach.

'You cannot make mistakes in the way we did, but it is a game that I think we can learn a lot from and build something special from this defeat.'

It is not just for the long term that the Italian saw promising signs from his team against Bayern, either.

Although we ended up returning to London without any points to show for our efforts, he believes the way we challenged the German champions all the way to the final whistle showed this young Chelsea team is ready to compete with the continent's best sides.

‘In terms of experience, between them and us, I think there was a huge difference,' continued Maresca.

'Whether it is because of the games they have played in the Champions League or because of the age, it does not matter. But in Munich no doubt we showed that we can compete right away.

'I played in this stadium in this competition when I was assistant coach with Sevilla and Man City, so I know how difficult it is to come here and compete. You cannot expect to come to this stadium against this team and try to dominate and control the game for 95 minutes.

'So the way we competed for part of the game, we were very good. The mistakes we made are something we can learn from, and I have the feeling that we can build something special from this defeat.

'We have seven more games so there are plenty of points left.'

The first of those seven remaining Champions League fixtures available for us to build on this starting point in the competition arrives in just under two weeks, when we host Benfica at Stamford Bridge.

Before that, of course, Maresca and his squad turn their attention to another big away trip, this time to face Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday.