A squad of 22 players made the journey across the Channel to the French capital where they take on PSG at the Stade Jean-Bouin, a stadium last visited by the Blues back in 2019, where we progressed to the semi-final stages with a dramatic victory.

Shortly after arriving at our destination, the skipper took questions from the media and expressed excitement at the prospect of bouncing back from the disappointment suffered in Europe last season and using this as motivation.

‘We are really excited to enter the group stage of the Champions League again now,' she said.

'Last year’s group stage didn’t end the way we wanted so we really want to make things right. We’re really excited to show what we can do in another tough group once again. They are really exciting games and we’re looking forward to it.’

Having been handed a tough group with PSG, Real Madrid and Albanian outfit Vllaznia, the Swedish international understands the importance of starting as we mean to go on by getting a good result on matchday one.

‘That’s what we plan to do. Preparations have gone really well. We’re coming into the game with a really strong squad and we’re really ready for this game. It’s a really tough game, it’s a tough group so we’re going to have to take it game-by-game. Our goal tomorrow is to get a good result.

‘We’re playing against one of the best teams in France so we know we’re going to have to work really hard for it. We know what this team can achieve, we know what quality players we have. We trust that and we hope we can get the win tomorrow.’

In the absence of manager Emma Hayes, Eriksson credited the team for rising to the challenge while insisting her role as captain doesn’t need to change, thanks to the character and professionalism within the squad.

‘First of all, I’m gutted for Emma. I’m happy that she’s recovering well and we miss her, we miss having her around. Team wise, I don’t really have to do anything more as captain. We have great people around the team, we have great people in the team so everyone has stepped up and taken more responsibility.

‘We miss Emma a lot, but we know that we’re going to have to find ways to handle this period without her. We have amazing staff looking after us and we also know we have Emma looking from home and she’s going to stay in close contact with all of us.’

Despite being absent from the sideline, Hayes continues to have an input from afar. Eriksson insists there is a positive mood in the camp and that the goal is to find solutions until the manager returns.

‘Paul and Denise are relaying her messages. It’s clear they have close relationships and they’re talking a lot. We know she is looking at training from home, she is helping out in the way that she can. There is a good vibe in the team, we’ve got the best preparations. We really miss Emma, she is a special character, we will find a way to do this without her this time.’