There were parts of the Chelsea performance in the WSL London derby on Sunday that were not up to Emma Hayes’s desired standards, but when a manager’s team keeps going to the very end, when changes made during the match have an impact, and when something is taken away from a very important game, there are of course aspects that pleased her too.

A late Sam Kerr header from a brilliant delivery by substitute Jelena Cankovic earned the Blues a draw after Arsenal had taken the lead following a controversial penalty award. Those moments were also discussed by Hayes after the game but she also gave a general summing up as a 1-1 draw ensured her side remain ahead of the Gunners and Manchester United in a close title race.

‘In general the first half looked as if the two teams had been on an international break, which is what we can expect,’ she said. This was the first game since before Christmas.

‘Arsenal started the second half better, we struggled, Kim Little grew in the game, the penalty came, but then my team showed tremendous character from there on in.

‘We were away from home, not at our best, especially going forward, but the finishers came on and each and every one of them, Eve Perisset, Jelena Cankovic, Fran Kirby, they all added value and dug out a point.

‘I knew that Arsenal would have their strongest team and I knew that with 45,000 people watching, this was their best opportunity, so for that reason, I think this is a great point for us.’

Looking at the contribution by one of her finishers, as she likes to call the second-half substitutes, Hayes spoke about the cross that led to Kerr’s equaliser and how before she sent Cankovic on, she told the player to get the ball beyond the near post, unlike Chelsea’s earlier deliveries which had been too easy to clear.

‘She's been sick all week,’ the manager added. ‘Fran was a doubt. So for both of them to come in and contribute is fantastic. Jelena has just begun her career here, she's had a lot of setbacks early on with injury and this week with illness, but I think she's going to be a huge player for us.’

In a game in which she thought our attacking play was below par, Hayes praised the focus maintained to the finish by Kerr when she was having a quiet game, while at the other end of the pitch, Zecira Musovic justified her selection in goal by keeping out seven shots on target.

‘She was brilliant in everything she did,’ said Hayes. ‘I don't know because I haven't watched the game again if any of them were big saves. I think everything was in a range that she should deal with, but she had to touch the ball a lot.

‘Her game management is something I will talk to her about, for when the game gets difficult - just some different decision-making, but the work she's doing in the background on the training pitch, her diligence, her attention to detail, her application has been absolutely brilliant and she's deserving of the accolades she gets from this game.’

The one time the Swede was beaten was from the penalty spot. The foul awarded was against Niamh Charles. Hayes joined the debate on whether the challenge should have been penalised in the way it was given the place where it occurred.

‘We could spend a long time talking about different rules and laws etc. One law of the game is if there's a first contact outside of the box, and it's not carried into the box, it's a free-kick, which we thought initially that maybe that's what the foul was for, but it wasn't.

‘The referee gave the decision for a tangling of legs in the box, but I think that’s impossible to avoid when a player's already going down.

The referee’s made that decision - just get on with it, no point talking about it. VAR needs to be in the game, whether it's to confirm it or deny it, but it's not anything we haven't already said.’