Emma Hayes said Chelsea's progress since the 2021 Champions League final was evident after they were beaten by Barcelona in their semi-final first leg.
In a rematch from their sole European final, the Blues were edged out by the Spanish champions 1-0, in front of 27,697 fans at Stamford Bridge. Caroline Graham Hansen got the winner with a superb individual goal after just three minutes, unleashing a stunning shot beyond Ann-Katrin Berger to leave the hosts reeling.
But Chelsea recovered to put in a competitive display and would be heading to next week's second leg level had Lucy Bronze not made a last ditch clearance to deny Guro Reiten. And manager Hayes insisted after the defeat that Chelsea were still very much in the tie following the defeat.
"You have to be perfect to beat these guys, they’re amazing,” Hayes explained. “We had a big chance with Guro (Reiten), we have to be better on the ball in the right moments.
"But I think I’m grateful the tie wasn’t over after 25 minutes. I see that as progress.
"You have to be in the tie and we are. We have to prepare again for another game. Our players have experienced that game and it’s important we learn from that. My big message is just to stay in the tie."
Chelsea were 4-0 down after just 36 minutes the last time the two teams met, in the showpiece final in Gothenburg. Hayes had seen her side knock out holders Lyon in the quarter-final, but Barcelona proved to be a step up in quality at Stamford Bridge.
She left Lauren James out of her starting line-up, instead introducing the England star at the break as she replaced Jelena Cankovic. But the Chelsea boss explained afterwards, this was purely down to tactical set-up.
"In terms of Lauren (James) today we played a 3-5-2," added Hayes. "The job of perhaps where Périsset is playing (at right wing-back) is not where Lauren's strengths are going to be.
"You have to do a lot of work there without the ball. Whether you are pressing or working on your cover positions. There is a lot of tactical work you have to do out of possession.
"That is still of work for Lauren to do. The decision was the right decision. Even in the second half we saw it isn't easy. She'll bring a threat for us going forward and she'll do that for us in the next leg. But you have to defend really hard without the ball.
"You have to pick and choose how you will do it and I think we had the right strategy today."
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