Speaking to the media alongside head coach Sonia Bompastor on the team’s arrival in the Netherlands, Bright reiterated what competing in this tournament means to her and the rest of the squad.

Having played a major role in our clean sweep of domestic honours, the Champions League remains the only trophy our captain has never lifted with the Blues. And as our next opportunity to set that right begins in Holland, the overriding emotion for Bright was clear, both at the prospect of this game and the competition as a whole.

‘It’s exciting,’ insisted our skipper. ‘It’s a competition every player wants to play in, you dream of it as a little kid. Going from watching it on TV and having that excitement to being able to play in it is a privilege.

‘It’s a competition which is never taken lightly. We’ve seen how hard the women’s game is now to compete and to win. It’s getting harder and harder each season, which is fantastic and shows that we’re doing all the right things and we’re keeping moving the women’s game forward.

‘But it’s an honour to play in and our ambitions are the same every single season. The journey always looks very different from season to season, but our ambitions are very clear and we know what’s expected of us. Our journey starts today, so we want to start in the right way and get off to a good start.

‘It will be an exciting game for the fans, but I think it will be a really competitive game. They are in great form, I think we’re in a similar position. It’s the start of our Champions League campaign and, especially with the new set-up as well, I think it’s going to be really exciting. But first and foremost we need to take care of business.’

Bright was also asked about the two young members of our squad returning to familiar territory today, in our Dutch duo Wieke Kaptein and Veerle Buurman.

Kaptein, who started her career at Twente, is already a Women’s Super League champion in her second year with the Blues. Teenager Buurman joined the squad in the summer, after spending last season on loan at PSV Eindhoven, impressing our captain with the way she has settled into life at Chelsea.

‘They’re both amazing players, but I think most importantly they are incredible people, really good characters,’ Millie added. ‘They’re really hard working, have a great mentality, and like any player they add to our team and bring their qualities.

‘They’ve been unbelievable so far and especially Vee, she’s settled in like she’s been here for years, which I think is a credit to our environment but also a credit to her and the way she’s come in and performed so far.

‘She’s hard working. Every single day she shows up. She’s coped amazingly, but I think that’s just down to her as a person, her characteristics and mentality coming into such a big club and big league.

‘I think she’s been amazing and she should be really proud of that. She comes in, she gets her head down, she works hard, she’s bubbly. She’s just lovely to be around and she’s settled in so well it feels like she’s been here for a lot longer than she has.’

No doubt Buurman, Kaptein and the rest of the Blues are keen to show all those traits to help Chelsea get off to a winning start in this season’s Champions League when we kick-off against Twente at 5.45pm UK time.