When Hannah Hampton was ruled out of our Champions League trip to St. Polten after sustaining an injury during our draw away to Arsenal, it was time for summer signing Livia Peng to step into the fore. And she had big shoes to fill.

Hampton was coming toward the end of an incredibly successful year, having won a domestic Treble with Chelsea and played a crucial role in England’s European Championship win. She collected multiple personal accolades along the way.

When the 25-year-old suffered her unfortunate injury, her stock couldn’t have been any higher, and losing such an exceptional number one at a key point in the season would have been damaging for many sides.

Yet Peng, a Switzerland international, has calmly stepped into position between the posts and produced several impressive performances. It is exactly the reason the club decided to bring her in this summer.

‘At Chelsea, we have a general philosophy where we want to have goalkeepers in our team who are really comfortable playing in possession of the ball with their feet,’ Bompastor explained when discussing her goalkeeping unit.

‘In that sense, it doesn't change a lot from Hannah to Livia. They are both happy with the ball at their feet. They are the first ones to start the action in the buildup, and as a coach, that’s what I'm expecting from them to bring into the team.’

Peng has earned the number one spot for Switzerland and impressed with her performances during the summer's European Championship, a tournament held on her home soil. Her country exited the competition at the hands of eventual finalists Spain, but not before the Chelsea stopper had saved a penalty from Spain's Alexia Putellas.

It’s this level of proficiency which makes Hampton’s absence much less painful than it could have been.

‘Livia is a goalkeeper who has a lot of experience,’ Bompastor continued. ‘She’s played in big tournaments with her country as well. Her profile is a little bit different to Hannah's, but with their quality, no matter who plays, the performance of the team doesn't change.

‘You could see in the last few matches with Livia, we were quite consistent, and she had some great games. You have to feel fully confident going into the games because sometimes you have to take that moment as an opportunity to perform and to play.

'You need to be ready, basically. That's your job as a professional. Anytime you have an opportunity, you need to be ready to perform.’

This year has seen Hampton become the first women's goalkeeper to receive a Yashin award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, and her advocacy work in highlighting her rare eye condition, strabismus, has been celebrated at Buckingham Palace.

Yet while red carpet events have been a pleasurable byproduct of Hampton’s success this year, Bompastor explained the 25-year-old is utterly single-minded in her quest to be the best goalkeeper she can be.

‘As a character, Hannah is someone who likes to have clarity,’ said the Chelsea head coach. 'She has a lot of conversations with the staff and me to understand where she's going, how she's going, and what the plans are for her on the pitch.

‘She's really demanding, and I think that’s one of her qualities because she wants to improve. She's probably the best goalkeeper in the world right now, but she wants to improve and be even better. That's the right behaviour to have when you are at the top.

‘In a football career, the most difficult thing is to stay at the top, and not to drop off from that. So, probably that's the next step for her to stay there for many years and to be the reference point in the women's game in her position.’