Then out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of movement to his left: Arsenal teammate Alessia Russo was running. The pass was just past the England number 9, but she took a touch to her right before volleying into the bottom corner, leaving goalkeeper Hannah Hampton helpless.
“His touch was perfect and his finishing, it was great,” Blackstenius said. athletic The 76th-minute goal then sealed Arsenal’s 3-1 first leg win in this all-English Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, while their head coach Rene Slagers praised Roussos’ “conviction”.
Russo’s ruthlessness in scoring her eighth goal in this season’s Champions League – a record in the women’s game for an English player in a European campaign – gave Arsenal a two-goal lead heading into the second leg of the week today (Wednesday). It also highlighted what Chelsea lacked: a focal point and a clinical finisher.
Sam Kerr, the club’s top scorer in all competitions this season, was absent after playing the full 90 minutes in the weekend’s Asian Cup final in Australia. Kerr has lacked playing time since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in September, which kept her out until January 2024. Mayra Ramírez has not played since suffering a hamstring injury in pre-season. Aggie Beaver-Jones, who missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw against London City Lionesses with an ankle problem, has looked out of form.
It’s no surprise that Chelsea are vying for Manchester City’s Khadijah ‘Bunny’ Shaw, whose contract expires at the end of this season.
The decline in Chelsea’s finishing ability compared to recent years is noticeable. Over the past three seasons, he has performed above expectations in front of goal, but this season, he has scored 32 times more than expected goals (xG, a measure of the quality of chances created) with a value of 36.9. It’s not disastrous, but it is the worst conversion rate in the 12-team Women’s Super League.
Inefficiency has been Arsenal’s downfall in the past, but last night at the Emirates Stadium, they produced a brilliant performance when precious chances came.
Rousseau was not alone. In the 22nd minute, Blackstanius cleverly nodded Katie McCabe’s left-footed free-kick to put the home side ahead, before Chloe Kelly found herself in space and thought “trust yourself” as she fired a long-range shot to double the lead six minutes later.
“When you get hit like that, you know it’s going in,” Kelly told the media after the match. “Sometimes it clicks for you and sometimes you have to deal with those storms, but I’m playing with such talented players around me, it makes it a lot easier.” Both Kelly and Blackstenius limited their efficiency to just enjoying their football.
It was not that Chelsea had lost. They had just finished. Sonia Bompastor’s team was dominant (59 percent), had the same number of shots on target (six) and three more attempts than Arsenal (14-11).
In the first half, they fired from the blocks, caught Arsenal in transition and could have taken the lead twice within 10 minutes on the second day had Alyssa Thompson’s deflected shot and Lauren James’ strike not hit the post. “This has been the story of our season,” said head coach Bompastor. Chelsea were the better team for large parts of the first half as the tempo increased.
“We played into their hands a bit and we gave them chances which we saved,” said Arsenal’s Beth Mead. But a razor-like clinical edge provided the north London side with a solid foundation, while Chelsea had nothing to show for the first 45 minutes.
The spectators were left feeling very upset when the on-field referee controversially disallowed Veerle Biermann’s goal for an offensive foul on Lia Codina just before half-time, and it was not a handball, a decision which was checked by VAR, but Bompastor was left fuming as he vented his anger on the sideline and made some lewd comments in his native French.
In a parallel universe, Chelsea could have led 3–2 at half-time. Instead, they were trailing 2-0.
There were signs of disconnection as stray passes failed to find the blue shirts, the most obvious example being Erin Cuthbert hoping to hit the forward runner from a free kick, only for the ball to go straight out of play.
James’s outrageous volley with minimal backlift on 66 minutes brought the WSL champions back into the game, but as the momentum changed and Arsenal struggled to defend set pieces, the hosts refused to concede defeat. Slager’s side remained on task, remained calm, showed discipline and cohesion.
Afterwards, he praised the mentality shown by his team: “No matter what the situation, we were constantly in the game and happy to work.”
Chelsea right-back Lucy Bronze felt the 3–1 scoreline belied the level of play, but Russo pounced when it mattered most, adding a third and deflating the visitors.
It is the first time Arsenal, who beat Chelsea 2-0 in the WSL in January, have recorded back-to-back wins over them since 2016.
Chelsea, renowned as the mentality demons of the domestic women’s game, will need to show that ability at Stamford Bridge next week.
At the same stage of the competition last year, Bompastor’s side beat Manchester City 3–2 on aggregate after coming from 2–0 down in the first leg. They need the same killer instinct again 12 months later.
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