A lifelong Blues fan, McCabe had strong reasons for making the switch this summer, and now fully embedded in life at Chelsea, she’s discovered that the club’s ambitions off the pitch match where she wants to go on the pitch.

‘I've been enjoying it,’ she said. ‘It's been a long pre-season. We've had the Women's Champions League qualifiers as well, and we're really pleased that we're into the league phase now.

‘Coming into a fantastic football club at Chelsea, they really want to push and develop the women's game as well. We’ve got such leaders in the team. You can see that with Lucy (Bronze) captaining us today, and we still have Erin (Cuthbert) to come back.

‘You can see how Keira (Walsh) dominates the ball, and LJ (Lauren James) wants to make things happen. There are different styles of play, different ways of playing, and I think I’m still getting used to it and adjusting to things a little bit. But I feel good, I feel confident, and I just want to try to keep going and take a step further every week.’

Chelsea made a rapid start against Aston Villa, breaking the deadlock through a skilled finish from James after 11 minutes. For all the intensity of our play, we couldn’t find a way to extend the lead, though, in part due to an exceptional performance and nine saves made by opposition goalkeeper Akane Okuma.

Yet there is a long way to go after just one matchday. The WSL has expanded to 14 teams this season, meaning extra games and more opportunities to take all three points. McCabe was keen to put the result into perspective.

‘We started really well,’ she continued. ‘We wanted to start with a lot of energy and create some opportunities, which we did. But at this level, we need to be more clinical in front of goal and of course, we're frustrated to drop points at home.

‘But we're not going to panic; obviously, it's the start of the season. We’ll look to rectify it through the week. We're just disappointed because it's not Chelsea standards to drop points at home.’

Against Villa, McCabe put in a typically hard-working display with the most passes attempted in the final third of any player in the side (39), the most crosses delivered (ten), the joint-highest number of chances created (four), and the joint-most tackles made (two).

‘Sonia just wanted me to express my qualities on the ball,’ McCabe explained.

‘To try to get Alyssa (Thompson) on it, LJ in the pocket as well, Keira… players that can really make things happen and to make sure we were obviously keeping compact defensively as well. Unfortunately, we conceded a very sloppy goal, which we're disappointed with.

‘Being at Stamford Bridge now in the WSL, playing all our home games here, we wanted to start off on the right foot, but like I said, the message is not to panic. There's a long way to go. The league is getting more competitive as we've seen. Villa did well to defend for most of the game and come away with a point, so I have to give it to them as well.

‘We really wanted to suffocate them in the first half. We knew we'd get them to defend deep and defend the box. It felt like it was a bit slow in the second half. The ball wasn't really in play a lot. We were trying to get the ball going.

‘But it's up to us to bring the intensity in those moments, and I think the girls did really well in the wide areas with some intricate passes and some crossing opportunities as well. We have to be getting on the end of them in the box and putting them away.

‘We have a big week ahead now and a big game away at Man United, which is not easy. They'll be wanting to put things right after their result as well. We need full focus on next week.’