If anyone tuned into Chelsea’s Women’s Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid this past week expecting to see a dominant, relentless, free-scoring blue machine, they will have been disappointed.
Those watching who wanted to see signs that the Emma Hayes' side have the elite mentality required go further in Europe’s premier competition than ever before, however, got what they wanted.
Those are the two sides to this Chelsea team, and it was the latter that shone through over two legs as they beat Atletico 3-1 on aggregate.
That is not to say Hayes was happy with the manner in which Chelsea overcame a few scares in the second leg to progress.
England and Atletico forward Toni Duggan smashed a penalty against the bar; a penalty the Spanish side felt should’ve been their third of the game, not their first.
Down the other end moments later, Maren Mjelde scored from 12 yards to kill the tie, despite Emelyne Laurent’s late goal.
“We have to be better than we were today, if we’re going to progress,” Hayes said post-match.
But the sub-par performance, with Chelsea “a bit leggy” after their third game in seven days, can also be flipped into a positive.
Asked what message she believes the win will send to the rest of Europe, Hayes said: “You've seen us at best with 10 players last week, and even when we weren't at our best, we're still winning. That is a sign of a good team.
“To become a great team, we have to keep finding the other levels in ourselves. We haven't accomplished anything yet.”
Such is the fast-moving nature of Chelsea’s season, the team will not get too much time to reflect on what was an immensely impressive victory in terms of their mental toughness. In four days’ time, they have a Continental Cup final against Bristol City to win.
“Ice baths, recovery pants, flight home, recovery day, day off, in for Saturday, game Sunday,” Hayes reeled off the schedule that has become routine for a side still battling for trophies on four fronts.
Despite missing their captain and leader, Magdalena Eriksson, at centre-back in both legs; despite Sophie Ingle being sent off after 13 minutes in the first game; and despite Atletico being awarded three penalties over the two matches, the Blues became the first confirmed quarter-finalists in this year’s Women’s Champions League.
A slice of pizza and an ice bath will be the players’ reward for such a gruelling but rewarding week, Hayes laughed, as Chelsea prepared to fly back to London after Atletico’s ‘home’ tie was held in Monza, Italy.
But the manager herself did get a brief chance to reflect after the game on the progression of a project she has been overseeing for nine years.
“I don't think we would have come through this [tie] two years ago, with the squad we had then,” she said.
Given that two years ago Chelsea were playing in a second successive Champions League final, such a statement is telling of where they are now on their journey.
They are, of course, not the only team who have improved.
Goal
In France, Paris Saint-Germain have closed the gap on five-time defending European champions Lyon while in Spain, Barcelona are seven points clear at the top of the Primera Division, with three games in hand.
Chelsea's main WSL rivals, Manchester City, have themselves built wonderful squad depth, too.
The quarter-finals of this competition, which will be drawn on Friday, is the stage where heavyweights will really start to be pitted against each other.
But, as the old cliché goes, to be the best, you have to beat the best. It is a motto that Hayes certainly lives by.
Atletico Madrid - despite their struggles this season meaning they are outside of the Champions League places in the Primera Division standings - was the toughest draw Chelsea could have got. Hayes repeated over and over again that it was the tie she and the team wanted.
Asked on Wednesday if there is anyone in particular she would like in the quarter-finals, she responded with a shrug.
“No,” she said plainly, with a pause. “We just deal with it.”
When all manner of obstacles were put in their way in this last-16 tie, that is exactly what Chelsea did.
That is exactly what winners do.