The Blues went into the match in confident mood having won our opening three group stage matches, scoring 11 goals and keeping three clean sheets in the process, but were forced to settle for a point after an under-par display.

We were denied twice by the woodwork and were punished on 36 minutes when Caroline Weir broke the deadlock, putting us behind at the break. We stepped things up in the second half and levelled thanks to Guro Reiten’s penalty, which went in off the goalkeeper, going down as an own goal.

Despite seeing our streak of 11 consecutive victories halted, our unbeaten run in Europe continues. With two group games left to play, first away to Vllaznia before hosting Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge, we remain in control of the group ahead of the trip to Albania next week.

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In typical fashion, Cuthbert gave everything for the cause and was understandably frustrated by the result. On reflection, the midfielder acknowledged the team fell short in the first half, but was pleased with the reaction in the second half.

‘It was a really poor first half, well below our standards that we expect. It wasn’t what we set out to do, it wasn’t the game plan. We didn’t really lay a finger on them in the first half except for hitting the bar in the first couple of minutes.

‘We were disappointed to go into half-time like that but we responded well in the second half, we got a goal back and we could have stolen it at the end.’

There was an overwhelming sense of frustration at the nature of the performance. However, Cuthbert put the result into perspective, reiterating our position in the group and a determination to get over the line against Vllaznia.

‘At the end of the day, we’re still top of the group so we need to have confidence. These are good teams in Europe. Everyone has labelled it the group of death, it’s a good group with good teams. We don’t underestimate anybody in Europe.

‘It’s a disappointing game for us, but we’ve had a great run in Europe so far and we’ll look to continue that. As far as we’re concerned, it’s all focus to Vllaznia next week.’

With just one day to prepare for our final league match of the year against Reading on Sunday, rest and recovery are vital for the squad. Cuthbert outlined her expectations of our opponents and is focused on finishing the first half of the season on a high.

‘It’s going to be a tough game. We expect Reading to be very physical. Over the years, we have struggled sometimes against them. We expect a tough fight, we expect a battle. We have to be on it.

‘It’s a quick turnaround so it’s really important we rest and recover. We’ve got a couple of days so we’ll do everything we can to make sure we’re ready for that game.’