The major milestone reached by Millie Bright in Chelsea win over Tottenham Hotspur | OneFootball

Millie Bright (Chelsea FC)

Chelsea captain Millie Bright made her 300th appearance for the club as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Kingsmeadow in the Women’s Super League.

“You think of Chelsea, you think of her,” said former Scotland international Rachel Corsie on Sky Sports. “In the summer she had to do some rehab work around an injury that she probably had for a long time and had been pushing through, it’s good that she obviously feels fit and able to be someone who can every week, now midweek games as well for Chelsea, to be that reliable person that she is.

“She brings that character, experience, she’s always very vocal on the pitch, and she’s somebody that to have made 300 appearances, it’s a remarkable return for anybody.”

Emma Hayes: You can always count on Millie Bright

In a series of tributes published on the club’s official website, Blues head coach Sonia Bompastor called Bright “an example”, going on to add: “She works really hard on the pitch. It’s really important to have leaders in the team. Millie has been one of those leaders and she’s such a great athlete, but also such a great person.”

Chelsea’s previous head coach Emma Hayes, now in charge of the US women’s national team, said: “Millie Bright is a special person in my life. She feels like a little sister to me, she really does. I had so many years journeying with her, from building Chelsea to winning titles, to watching her go through her own international career with England, from the highs of winning a European Championship to the lows of losing a World Cup final.

“You can always count on her. As her manager you just know that, in the biggest games, she can cope with the pressure, she can cope with the expectation, she can be a vocal leader, she’ll organise people on the pitch, and she’ll drive a team on to stay in a game, mentally, at the crucial moments. That’s invaluable for a manager, to have somebody like that on the pitch.”

And former team-mate and now broadcaster Karen Carney said: “She will put her body on the line and give everything from start to finish. She is fearless and will spend the entire game encouraging team-mates, who see how much effort she is putting in and react, knowing she is setting the tone for everyone else.”