Arsenal overcame tricky conditions at OH Leuven and Meadow Park to beat the Belgian champions 3-1 to win 7-1 on aggregate and advance to the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League against Chelsea.
The Gunners have advanced to the last eight of the competition for a joint-record 17th time and will head into a mouth-watering second leg against their London rivals full of confidence they can continue their defense of their crown based on recent big wins in Europe and an unbeaten record against Chelsea in the WSL this season.
There was no doubt that Arsenal had pulled off a blockbuster clash after going 4-0 up in the first leg against Leuven on Wednesday. But it was a trickier night than expected, with pouring rain and blustery winds across the stadium.
Alessia Russo’s turn and finish inside the box after 23 minutes suggested another thrashing could be coming, but Ruben forced Arsenal into a sloppy error and equalized when Sara Pusztai’s close-range strike was awarded after VAR intervention to override an offside call in the build-up.
Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar had earlier been forced into a sharp one-on-one stop to deny Jada Conijnenberg and was exposed a few more times before the break.
Mariona Caldentey converted the penalty to restore Arsenal’s lead.
But Arsenal, who could have added a goal in the first half thanks to Frida Maanum’s sneaky header, looked more confident in the second half and a Mariona Caldentey penalty finally put the visitors ahead.
Caitlin Foord won the spot-kick with one of many dribbles down the left and was one of several Arsenal players to go close before Russo slipped in at the last minute. Renee Slegers’ team has truly risen to the top.
Russo is excited ahead of a ‘positive’ Arsenal clash with Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
Alessia Russo On Disney+:
“We are playing well, we are playing good football and I think that builds confidence for everyone. We are producing results in different ways and everyone is contributing, so I think the feeling around the whole team is really positive overall.
“It’s really exciting (to play Chelsea). It’s a team we’re very familiar with. As we get closer to the final we face a really tough team, which will be amazing. It’s unreal to have two top teams playing against each other for a semi-final spot.”
