Emma Hayes bemoaned a serious injury to Chelsea Women's 'mother hen' Maren Mjelde, who left their FA Women's Continental Tyres League Cup celebrations in an ambulance.
The Norwegian's crucial goal helped the Blues reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, beating Atletico Madrid 3-1 on aggregate.
With Chelsea cruising to a 6-0 win over Bristol City to win the League Cup for a second time, Mjelde went down clutching her knee and her screams of pain could be heard on the other side of an empty Vicarage Road.
"It’s a bittersweet moment," said Hayes. "Maren’s a huge person in our dressing room. She’s the mother hen, the person that everybody looks up to.
"I’m devastated. I hope she’s OK. I know it’s a bad one, but that win is for her today."
Fran Kirby, the star turn in Chelsea's convincing final victory, brought Mjelde's shirt to the trophy presentation, with the Lionesses star and goalscorer Guro Reiten reduced to tears in the aftermath.
Mjelde's experience and versatility looked set to be crucial to Chelsea's charge in the Barclays FA Women's Super League but what part she plays in the remainder of the season sadly remains to be seen.
They were a cut above Matt Beard's Bristol City who were the architects of their own downfall in a timid first-half display.
Sam Kerr helped herself to a hat-trick and was devastating in tandem with Kirby, clipping the Robins' wings with a well-taken goal before two minutes were on the clock.
The Matildas star said: "Emma (Hayes) put up on the tactics board today how many trophies we could win and this was one of them.
"We’re not stopping here, we’ll enjoy it tonight but tomorrow we’ll look back to the league. For us, it’s about winning everything we can and we’re not going to stop until the last game of the season. Hopefully we can pick up as many trophies as we can."
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