Goals from Sophie Ingle and Fran Kirby gave the Blues a two-goal cushion at the break, and we left it late to put the icing on the cake. Katerina Svitkova struck our third three minutes from time, before Maren Mjelde converted from the spot with virtually the final kick.

We arrived in Albania for our penultimate match of the group stage with an unbeaten record intact, recording three wins and one draw to create a three-point lead at the top of Group A. Our victory on Friday evening secures qualification for the knockout stage with top spot the next goal to achieve.

Speaking after the match, Hayes believes progression to the knockout phase puts an end to the talk around our group-stage exit last season. The team learned some important lessons in theory, which they have executed in practice.

‘Relief is not the right word,' she said. 'We have the opportunity to close last year. The questions in and around the group stage last year, we don’t have to answer that anymore. This team does so well to learn in its hardest moments and we understand what the group stages are in this competition. We’ve navigated them really well this season, our objective now is to come top of the group.’

Squad depth allows us to compete on all fronts, but the quality within the team has shone through during the first half of the season. Everyone knows the role they are required to play and they do so to great effect, something Hayes is delighted to witness.

‘There are players who have been really patient without playing time. The good thing for me is that when I put players on, what we’re learning everyday is applied in the games even for those players without regular minutes. Our depth has always been a strength of ours, but I feel the quality in the way we control games now is different than previous years. We didn’t get out of second gear but we have to credit Vllaznia too, they made it difficult.’

There were individual performances that warranted special recognition in Albania, with Hayes highlighting the contributions of Jelena Cankovic and Svitkova in particular, but the manager admitted the difficulties that the team selection poses.

‘It’s tough! I get more ear aches on a weekly basis because of the depth and the squad size because we’ve got so many quality players. To the credit of the entire dressing room, they plug away and they train hard. I don’t mind them knocking on my door asking what they need to do to get in the team, as long as that application keeps happening.’

With qualification confirmed, Hayes is adamant that the players will not switch off ahead of our final group stage match against Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, saying confirmation of our progression does not mean the job is done.

Tickets are available for that game, starting at £9 for adults and £1 for concessions

‘I don’t believe you can switch it on and off. The minute you down tools in something, I’ve seen my team when that happens, and I don’t like us when that happens. As far as I’m concerned, there are two conversations on the table for the team.

‘The first is how hard we’re going to train next week, the second is how we’re going to finish top. Everything else is nothing. I don’t want to hear about Christmas or quarter-finals, I’m not interested in any of that. I’m just interested in what we need to do to win the game next week.’