Against Brighton and Hove Albion last night, we broke the deadlock after 13 minutes when Alyssa Thompson headed home. Yet the Seagulls' response was instantaneous, and they levelled through Carla Camacho's deflected shot from distance.

However, shortly before the half-time interval, the Blues scored what proved to be the winner as Potter, starting in the WSL for the first time and on just the second occasion for Chelsea, drove a shot into the corner from close range.

Potter started alongside Walsh in the Blues midfield. The England international wore the captain's armband in the absence of Millie Bright, out due to injury, and Erin Cuthbert, who started among the Chelsea substitutes, and was pleased with how those brought into the side had delivered.

'We've got a busy few weeks ahead and we've got a lot of injuries, so I think the girls did really well,' said Walsh. 'Brighton are a tough team; I think we put in a great performance, especially in the first half.

'I think we controlled the first half really well. Obviously, in the second half, they threw a lot at us, but we withstood that. The girls who came on, Chloe (Sarwie), who is also a young player, came on and really made a difference in what was an important game for us. So I'm really pleased with the squad and really pleased with the result.

Bompastor explained after the match that Walsh was deployed in her usual deeper midfield role against Brighton, while she played Potter in the traditional number eight position, slightly higher up the pitch.

Walsh was keen to praise her young team-mate's performance, and gave some insight into how they come up against each other in training sessions at Cobham.

'I wasn't surprised by her performance,' said Walsh. 'I play her in training every day. I play against her, and it's not easy. One thing I like about playing with Lexi is that she always recognises where the space is, and I think we play really well in terms of working off each other and playing off each other's space.

'So yeah, I enjoyed tonight, and I'm really proud of Lexi.'