Second half goals from Sam Kerr and Pernille Harder gave the Blues a 2-0 lead at the Szusza Ferenc Stadium before Dominique Janssen pulled one back for Wolfsburg from the penalty spot.

Chelsea had failed to beat Wolfsburg in our previous eight meetings with the German side. Hayes believes Wednesday’s 'home-leg' victory shows Chelsea have closed the gap on Europe’s elite.

Speaking at full-time in Budapest, she said: ‘We’ve closed the gap, which was what my first curiosity was.

‘They are still a top team. They are still unbelievable in the air, good down the sides and good from the restarts.

‘I learnt that you have to suffer in moments, but the first leg is always about staying in the tie.

‘There is no home advantage for either team and I’m left feeling like the advantage is with them because they’ve got the away goal.

‘It was spirited with a lot of good performances from us. We gave them a game and I’m happy about that.’

Hayes has added the likes of Kerr, Harder and Melanie Leupolz to bridge that gap and it was Kerr who provided a clinical finish to take her goal tally to 17 this season and put the Blues ahead in the tie.

The Australian showed great composure when Kirby played her in on goal, taking one touch to take her away from the keeper before smashing home from a tight angle. Hayes praised the all-round performance from our No.20.

‘It was Sam’s best game in a Chelsea shirt,’ she said. ‘She looked relaxed, comfortable, calm and she looked like she enjoyed the occasion.

‘She held the ball up well for her team and had a swagger about her game.

‘She took the game to Wolfsburg in her moments, she did what the team needed and showed why she’s such an important part of our squad.’

While Kerr and Harder applied the finishing touches in front of goal, Blues goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made an equally important contribution at the other end.

Berger was the hero in our last 16 victory over Atletico Madrid, saving three penalties over the two legs, and our goalkeeper produced another outstanding performance between the sticks in the opening leg of our quarter-final tie.

The 30-year-old pulled off a double save in the first half to deny Fridolina Rolfo from close-range and then produced a save of the highest quality when she quite magnificently kept out a sweetly struck volley from Rolfo to keep the score at 1-0.

‘She is the best in the world,’ said Hayes. ‘She’s amazing and she did a great job. She’s getting better all the time and improving with every game.

‘She is a world-class goalkeeper and she deserves all the plaudits she is getting.’

Hayes and her side will take on Aston Villa in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League on Sunday before returning to Budapest for our away leg against Wolfsburg on Wednesday and although her team will take a 2-1 lead into the game, Hayes says the Blues need to be ready for another tough encounter with last year’s Champions League finalists.

She added: ‘I’m very realistic about the position. It’s half time, and you might think 2-0 would have been a better score line but 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline in football.

‘I actually don’t mind the 2-1 as it means we have to be even more wide awake whereas the 2-0, as we saw against Atletico, sometimes it can bring a bit of comfort into you and if our team don’t think we are in for a game then they certainly know after that goal went in.

‘I was impressed with Wolfsburg and I expect them to throw absolutely everything at us in the next leg.’