Bernabe, who signed for the club in the summer of 2023 before spending last season on loan in her native Spain, entered the fray for her maiden Chelsea appearance for the remaining 15 minutes of our 1-1 draw with the Foxes.

The Blues were trailing 1-0 when she came on after Missy Goodwin's opening goal in the 20th minute and were staring down the barrel of a first defeat of the Sonia Bompastor reign, but a 77th-minute equaliser from Wieke Kaptein ensured a point in the East Midlands and kept our unbeaten run intact.

And although it was not the result the Blues desired in our final league match of 2024, to make her first official outing in Chelsea colours was an undeniably special moment for Bernabe.

'I'm so proud,' an emotional Bernabe said after making her debut. 'This is the best thing that has happened to me this year because I have tried to work hard and now I got my opportunity.

'I'm just so happy. It's true that it was a hard game, but we tried until the very end and we managed to get the goal. There is an important match now on Tuesday (against Real Madrid), so we have to keep going.'

The 23-year-old Spaniard, who came on to feature down the left side, impressed in her first appearance, almost making an immediate impact when she found forward Catarina Macario in the box, before having chances of her own to find the back of the net.

'I'm happy because I came on and I felt good,' Bernabe said. 'I felt comfortable. I had two good touches when I came on, so that helped me feel good. I tried until the very end and I will keep working now.'

The draw with Leicester was the first time the Blues have dropped points this season, however, we remain unbeaten across 15 games in all competitions this season and will go into the winter break sitting at the top of the WSL table.

'It is difficult to win all the matches and this is football,' Bernabe said. 'It was a difficult first half and we had so many opportunities in the game, but couldn't score. This team worked until the end because we never give up. We have to maintain this.'