Hayes made six changes to the side that started our 2-1 first leg win over Wolfsburg on Wednesday and the outcome was good as a Sam Kerr double secured three points to take the Blues back above Manchester City.

Kerr opened the scoring with a header after 24 minutes at Kingsmeadow before adding to our advantage just before the hour mark and although Hayes was disappointed with the first-half performance, the Blues boss was pleased with the reaction from her players following the half-time break.

She said: ‘I liked the response from the team at half-time. I liked that they took on board my comments and worked on the things that we worked so hard on in training.

‘I was disappointed about some of the standards I hold dearly in terms of what you need to do to compete in football matches. I respect it is difficult when you play an away game, you come back to a home game and you are playing against a low block.

‘They made it difficult for us but there are certain fundamentals I demand from the group that I wasn’t happy with. No player in particular, the group as a whole.

‘The second half they responded much better and we did what we had to, to get the result over the line but we are going to have to improve if we are going to retain our title and we are certainly going to have to improve if we are to progress on Wednesday.’

A positive that Hayes took from Sunday’s win was the contribution of Kerr and Fran Kirby, who have now directly combined for 10 goals this season.

Kirby assisted Kerr for both of her goals with the Australian now overtaking Kirby at the top of the Blues scoring charts this season with 19 goals and Hayes believes the pair are in the best form of their careers.

She added: ‘Everybody knows the amounts of pressure those players were under, especially at the start of the year.

‘The fact that they are going into every game looking like they are going to score in every game is a real testament to both of them.

‘First, to manage that pressure and expectation, but also to play with a smile on their faces, which both of them are doing. I feel like both of them are in the form of their life and that combination is dynamite.

‘It’s so telepathic and they bring the best out of each other and another good couple of goals today for them. It’s rare to find those things so when you have them you have to play to it.

‘What I know is that they are always going to get chances every game. It’s not always about dominating in every instance as we saw against Wolfsburg in midweek but it’s about capitalising on the chances you get and those two are certainly proving their efficiency in front of goal.

‘At the very top level you have to be efficient and they are both doing that.’

Kerr was named player of the match following Sunday’s win and speaking at full-time, the striker highlighted the importance of the three points and touched on the formidable partnership with Kirby.

She said: ‘It’s a big win. We’ve had a hectic schedule the last few weeks so that was a massive win for us. It wasn’t our best performance today but that’s what the best teams do. We pushed through and everyone played their part today.

‘Fran is an exceptional player,’ added Kerr. ‘She’s been in amazing form this year and she’s just easy to play with. I understand her, she understands me. If they aren’t marking Fran, they are marking me so she’s free. It’s just one of those things that works.

‘Fran is always passing me the ball. If she was competing with me, she wouldn’t be passing me as many goals as she has been doing. We want the best for the team and you can see that every week.’