The five-time Champions League winner started yesterday's Group B opener at Stamford Bridge, in which we established a two-goal lead after Sjoeke Nusken and Guro Reiten netted.

The deficit was halved going into the interval after a goal from Real Madrid’s Alba Redondo, but Mayra Ramirez's first of the campaign put us back in control and ensured a late strike from fellow Colombian Linda Caicedo was nothing more than a consolation for Madrid.

Given her experience in the competition, Bronze knows full well the importance of getting off to a winning start. However, the England international knows better is needed from the Blues as the Champions League progresses.

‘It’s a good start but playing like that we won’t win the competition,’ the 32-year-old accepted. 'Real Madrid are a good team and have improved a lot since last season – obviously, I know that quite well from my time at Barcelona.

‘Getting a win at home was especially important to start the campaign with the three points. Now we move on.

‘We gave up goals too easily but were the better team on the night. We possessed the ball well in spells and our goals were well-taken, but we should have put the game to bed when we were 3-1 up. We should have scored more and not let them get back into the game.

‘In the Champions League, if you let a team back into a game they will punish you. So we’re disappointed to concede two goals, especially the first which was quite frustrating. Both were quite similar and it was a bit of a mix-up and could have been avoided.’

Bronze is no stranger to European nights at the Bridge despite yesterday's outing being the first she has worn blue.

The defender was part of the Barcelona squad that pipped the Blues to a place in last season’s semi-final; the Spanish club prevailed 2-1 on aggregate after two hard-fought legs.

Now with the opportunity to play on the European stage with her Chelsea team-mates after joining this summer, the England international believes the Blues are capable of achieving Champions League success.

‘Playing for and against Chelsea, I know the talent and the competitiveness there is to win the Champions League,’ Bronze said. 'This team has beaten the best in Europe in Barcelona and Lyon and I think this year we have improved upon last year.

‘We’re poised to push on. We need to improve a lot upon tonight, but we’re in a good position and I think by the end of the season we’ll be in a better place.’