After scoring against Leicester City in the WSL in her debut outing in Blue the previous weekend, Macario struck a 66th-minute winner after coming off the bench at Everton in the Adobe Women's FA Cup quarter-finals.

With a much-changed side struggling to find rhythm during a testing cup tie, our No.9 capped off the one moment of standout quality as she tucked home after excellent work from Aggie Beever-Jones.

After suffering an ACL injury in June 2022, few would have predicted the impact Macario has made. But the USA international says she has been desperate to repay the faith shown in her by the Blues after she was brought to the club when still a long way off a return to action.

'It honestly has been the hardest period of my life. It’s been nearly two years but I’m super grateful Chelsea never gave up on me – and that they even wanted me.

‘I joined when I was injured and no player ever wants to do that. So I’m very thankful to Emma [Hayes], Denise [Reddy] and Paul Green for having that faith in me. I’m so blessed to be in this team because they really are special and have made the time go so fast even in the toughest months.

‘I want to repay them by contributing to the team. It was very draining being out for that long. Mentally it was very, very hard. But again I just have the greatest teammates and the staff were there in every single way to support me.

‘Even though it was a very hard period, they made it just fly by. I couldn’t ask to be part of a better team. I’m very, very thankful for that.'

Three away games in a week looked to be taking its toll on the Blues on Sunday, as Everton proved stubborn opposition. That was until Beever-Jones produced an excellent run beyond Everton skipper Megan Finnigan and picked out Macario, who turned matchwinner.

'With ‘Aggie, I see that every single day from her in training,' said Macario. 'She’s amazing. She’s just going to keep getting better and better. I was the one who tapped it in, but that goal was Aggie written all over it.

'Everton dug in and gave us a really hard game. I mean I hope the fan liked it watching it from the outside. But we were hoping to close out the game a little earlier than we did. We’re just happy to have finished with a win.'

The victory ensures Chelsea continue to fight on four fronts this season – and the Blues are now only one game away from securing a second domestic cup final of what could prove a historic campaign.

‘The Chelsea standard is to be fighting for all those trophies,' added Macario. 'I feel like we have to take it day by day. Every time we step on the pitch, whether for training or for a game, we have to rise above those expectations, really dig in, and do what we need.

‘We have great depth, both on the bench and on the field. So everyone is up for the task and that is what we want.’