In terms of points on the board, the start couldn’t have been better, but for experienced Blues midfielder Erin Cuthbert, there is so much more to come from this side.

The Scotland international has been a vital part of a Chelsea team that has won six consecutive WSL titles, and last season achieved an invincible domestic Treble. It’s not a surprise that such a serial winner has high expectations.

‘We've probably not made connections yet when we're playing different players each game,’ explained Cuthbert. ‘We played a different system each time, too. There are a lot of adaptations happening quite quickly. It will stand us in good stead at the latter end of the season.

‘For now, there's certainly a bit of a teething process. As players, it's up to us to gain those connections with each other, watching clips at home, and seeing what each other does. We need to gain those connections as quickly as possible, and the only way we can do that is by playing.’

After starting against Man City, Cuthbert was rotated against Aston Villa last weekend and was named on the bench by head coach Sonia Bompastor. Chelsea struggled to keep a dominant Villa at bay in a tough first half at Villa Park, and the midfielder was introduced at the start of the second half.

Cuthbert seemed to cover every blade of grass as we began to get a foothold in the game. In just one half of action, the 27-year-old completed the third most passes of the match among the Chelsea players (38) – behind Nathalie Bjorn with 45 and Keira Walsh with 39.

‘First and foremost, you’ve just got to influence what you can control, and for me, that meant if I was called upon, to come on and make an impact,’ she continued. ‘Especially when the game was hanging in the balance and we obviously didn't have the best half.

‘That wasn't how we wanted the half to go, irrespective of the personnel that were on the pitch. From watching the game and analysing it, it was clear that we needed a bit more aggression. We needed to win more duels, and I could bring that to the game. We also mentioned something really valuable at half-time. When people are man-marking against us, it's important we get hold of the ball and not always pass backwards, so maybe we needed to play a little bit more direct.

‘You have to wear a team like Aston Villa down. They were super aggressive in the beginning, so second half, we regained control of the game.

‘You saw a few more balls in behind during the second half, and that's what teams that man-mark don't want, they don't want to be running towards their own goal. They want to be running forward. There were a few little adjustments at half-time, and it wasn't just me; it was the other girls who came on too. They made a really good impact.’

Cuthbert believes that competition in the WSL is increasing every year. Next month also sees the start of the Women’s Champions League action, and after Friday’s league phase draw, the midfielder shed some light on the way that European sides often play.

‘I think teams are getting closer to us,’ said Cuthbert. ‘You're not going to see the same scorelines that you saw maybe in previous years. Our performance needs to be a little bit more dominant than it has been because we can control the momentum and the tempo of the game a little bit better.

‘Certainly in Europe, there's a lot more man-to-man marking, so a lot more games will be similar to Aston Villa. We played Ajax in pre-season when it was a very man-to-man system as well, so we know that we're going to have to improve.

‘It was certainly a wake-up call that we probably got away with against Villa, but won't get away with it in future. We have to go beyond it, be better under pressure, be able to hold the ball up and be stronger, because we’ve got enough quality in the dressing room. It's just having the trust to go and try and make things happen as well.’

Next up in the WSL is Leicester City at Kingsmeadow on Sunday. While Chelsea have an excellent general record against the Foxes, a 1-1 draw that ended Sonia Bompastor’s winning streak last December still sticks in Cuthbert’s mind.

‘I certainly don't think there will be any complacency,' she said. 'Given the last time that we played them in Leicester, we drew the game, and we know how frustrating that game was.

‘I wasn't playing myself, but I was watching the game, and I know that they're extremely difficult to break down. They'll put a lot of numbers behind the ball. They'll be full of confidence now, leading into the game having beaten Liverpool, which was a big, big result for them.

‘We won last Sunday, but we didn't play our best football. I still think we've got more in us, and this Sunday is a good opportunity to gain connections and relationships against a team that play a low block.

‘For us, having the memory of drawing last time at Leicester and remembering how that felt should be enough motivation for the weekend.’