Magdalena Eriksson was one of those watching on as a much-changed Chelsea Women side bounced back from defeat in the Continental League Cup final with a comfortable 3-1 win over Brighton in the WSL in midweek, taking us within one point of leaders Manchester United, who we host at Kingsmeadow today.

After that victory over Brighton, manager Emma Hayes highlighted the strength in depth at her disposal in this Chelsea squad, having seen an impressive performance from her side despite making seven changes to the starting line-up.

It is a sentiment which Eriksson echoes, believing we have only gotten stronger this season thanks to the new arrivals at Cobham in the summer.

‘That is a unique thing that we have at Chelsea, that we have so many players who are ready to compete and used to competing on the training pitch on a daily basis, raising the standards as a team,’ said the Swedish international.

‘The things we’re faced with in training are sometimes harder than the questions we have asked of us in games, so we’re coming into every game really well prepared and ready to compete.

‘I think all the new ones have settled into the team really quickly. It’s not a given that new signings are going to fit into the culture you have at a club, but this time it has really been just a perfect match.

‘They’re great characters, great people and great football players, and that makes it easy. They’ve been humble and they’ve been willing to listen, to learn and develop. They’ve been really nice additions to the team in terms of the mentality and experience they bring to us. I can only say positive things about them and I’m really impressed with how quickly they’ve all settled.’

Eriksson also underlined another key characteristic of this Chelsea team, namely the wealth of experience and number of leaders in the squad, despite the departure of several long-serving Blues ahead of this season, something which informs her role as captain.

‘It’s a natural cycle of football, people leave and there’s more responsibility put on other players, including the younger ones who are getting older and more settled,’ she explained.

‘For me, I’ve always looked at my leadership at Chelsea as a co-operative with the leaders we already have in the team. There’s so much experience here, so many players who captain their national teams, and I don’t need to be the one standing alone at the front, leading the way. It works a lot better if we’re doing it all together as a group, so in that sense it’s very nice to be captain of this team.’

That experience in the squad will be put to the test at Kingsmeadow today, when we take on top-of-the-table Manchester United in a huge game. Following Wednesday’s win we sit just one point behind our opponents, having played one match less, meaning a victory today would send us top of the WSL table.

‘It will be a really tough game. They have proven themselves over the years, especially this season, to be a top-quality team. They have some young players, but they’ve been consistent with the way they want to play and the young players have improved every year.

‘This season they are stronger than ever, which they’ve proved by staying within the top-three battle. They are very much there and ready to compete.

‘It’s going to be a really interesting, tough game that I’m looking forward to. It’s at Kingsmeadow, our home, in front of our fans, so I’m still expecting us to come out in front, which is what we expect in every single game we play. It’s going to be really tough and we’ve got to be on it from minute one.’