Arsenal maintained their stellar run of form under interim boss Renee Slegers by beating Juventus in the Women’s Champions League.
Frida Maanum, Stina Blackstenius, Mariona Caldentey and Caitlin Foord all scored to ensure Arsenal are now unbeaten in five matches since Slegers took over following Jonas Eidevall’s resignation.
They were made to toil on the road to their impressive win, with Juventus regularly causing problems for them to deal with at the back and proving dangerous on the counter-attack.
Yet the Gunners always looked more promising and were finally rewarded for their attacking persistence before the break when Maanum slotted in from close range to round off an excellent passing move.
Substitute Blackstenius added another with a fine solo goal, charging into the box after a pass from Caldentey before beating Pauline Peyraud-Magnin at her near post.
Spain forward Caldentey made it three when she reacted quickly inside the area to send an effort past the Juventus goalkeeper, after Lina Hurtig and Foord kept a chance alive.
Arsenal’s goal haul was not yet complete, though, and Australia international Foord rounded off victory when she tapped in a Kyra Cooney-Cross delivery.
The win means Arsenal stay second in Group C after three games, three points ahead of their third-placed Italian opponents and three points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
Arsenal boss Slegers said “it is still early” but her side are happy with what they have done so far in the Champions League, with their next game in the competition at home to Juventus on Thursday, 21 November (20:00 GMT).
“We all knew it wasn’t going to be easy against Juventus, but we played a game of great intensity and got the result we wanted,” Slegers told Uefa.
“We knew we had some great game-changers on the bench and that probably made the difference.”
While the group stage is only at the halfway mark, the battle for second place – and qualification for the knockout stages – looks likely to be between Juventus and Arsenal, and the Gunners now have the upper hand.
(BBC Sports)
