Arsenal overcame a lively O Leuven side and tricky conditions at Meadow Park to book a place in the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals against Chelsea thanks to a 3-1 victory over the Belgian champions and a 7-1 aggregate victory.
The Gunners have reached the last eight of the competition for a joint-record 17th time and will go into a mouthwatering double-legged showdown with their London rivals believing they can continue to defend their title given their recent big wins in Europe this season and their unbeaten record against Chelsea in the WSL.
Arsenal’s progress towards a blockbuster was never in doubt given their 4-0 lead over Leuven in Wednesday’s first leg, but it was a trickier night than expected, with driving rain and wind whipping across the cut-up pitch.
Alessia Russo’s spin and finish from inside the box after 23 minutes hinted at the possibility of more power, but Leuven forced Arsenal into a sloppy error and, after VAR intervention to overturn an offside decision in the build-up, Sara Pusztei’s close-range effort leveled the score.
Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar had previously been forced into a sharp one-on-one stop to deny Jada Koninenberg an attack, and was exposed several more times before the break.
Mariona Caldenti converted the penalty on the night to restore Arsenal’s lead.
But Arsenal could have added another point in the first half with Frida Mahnum’s close-range header, but they grew even more confident in the second period and Mariona Caldenti’s penalty finally destroyed the visitors.
Caitlin Ford won the spot-kick with a dribble from the left and was one of several Arsenal players to score before Russo scored her second of the night in the final seconds.
Russo excited by ‘positive’ Arsenal in Chelsea quarter-finals
Alessia Russo on Disney+:
“We’re playing well, we’re playing good football, and I think that’s giving everyone confidence. We’re continuing to get results in different ways and everyone’s contributing, so I think the overall mood of the team is very positive overall.”
“It’s very exciting (to play against Chelsea). It’s a team we know very well. As we get closer to the final, we’ll be playing against a really tough team, which will be great. It’s surreal to have the top two teams playing against each other for a place in the semi-finals.”
