It was a frustrating start to our Women’s Super League campaign, as we were beaten 2-1 away at newly promoted Liverpool in a match we dominated but was decided by three penalties – a record for a WSL match – as well as a controversially disallowed Sam Kerr goal for the Blues.

However, Kirby – who opened the scoring from the spot at Prenton Park in the third minute – isn’t making excuses or pointing to the officials after that loss, focusing instead on Chelsea’s need to improve and turn our possession into chances moving forward, despite the personal satisfaction of getting her first goal of 2022/23.

‘Yeah, I’m absolutely happy to have scored, but I think the end goal is to get the win at the final whistle,’ said Kirby.

‘It doesn’t really matter who scores it or who puts it in the back of the net, we need to do better in certain situations and then hopefully we can put that into motion on the training pitch this week.’

She also highlighted where we fell short against Liverpool, believing we have to increase the tempo of our play to help open up our next opponents.

‘I think maybe we were a little bit too slow on the ball and we didn’t really create much. If we don’t create chances we’re not going to score goals.

‘So we need to be a bit more creative in and around the box. Hopefully we can build on that this week and put it into practice at the weekend.’

That first chance to bounce back arrives on Sunday afternoon when Chelsea Women walk out in front of our own fans at Kingsmeadow for the first time in 2022/23, taking on the side we beat in last season’s FA Cup final, Manchester City.

Given our opponents also suffered a defeat in their opening match, losing 4-3 away at Aston Villa, it should make for quite a game with both teams eager to kick-start their campaign.

‘We both had difficult results on Sunday so we both need to bounce back and get a win,' added Kirby.

‘It’s always difficult when we play Man City, they’re a quality side. We just have to do what we can in training this week to put it right.’

With the home crowd behind Kirby and her fellow Blues at Kingsmeadow for the first time this season, there couldn’t be a better time for Chelsea to put that into action and get some points on the board with a confidence boosting win over one of our potential title rivals.