Renée Slegers was really pleased with how we handled the first leg of our UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals with Chelsea.
We won 3-1 thanks to goals from Stina Blackstenius, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo to earn a strong advantage at half-time in the tie.
“It was a very tight game, two good teams going against each other,” the head coach said. “Chelsea created some opportunities early in the game. We stayed in the game, we were calm. It was constantly finding solutions to create spaces, to find ways out, to solve the press. So there were a lot of decisions being made and a lot of changes in what we wanted to do.
“And that, in combination with very high intensity and a lot of duels and very tight spaces on the pitch, it was a very demanding game for the players.
“Of course, very happy how we were task-focused and were composed in all moments and stayed in control. The players felt in control the whole game and we were ruthless with our chances. So it’s really positive. So we wanted this, this is, mission completed.
“We wanted to start well this first leg at the Emirates with the help of our fans.
“So I’m really happy with that. But now it’s half-time, so we’ll have to go and play them at Stamford Bridge in the second leg.”
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Report: Arsenal Women 3-1 Chelsea
Asked to reflect on Kelly’s magnificent strike, as well as Russo’s brilliant finish for our third goal, Renée continued: “There’s so many things we’re looking at during the game, so sometimes I forget exactly how the goal goes in!
“I think we scored three really good goals. We were ruthless with our chances. I think when pressure is broken and we go at it, then we were really dangerous tonight. So happy with those moments.”
Renée had to make a change at half-time, replacing Laia Codina with Taylor Hinds and shifting Katie McCabe over to centre-back, so we asked the head coach the importance of adaptability in the team.
“We gave her the heads-up at half-time, any questions around the game plan, and she said, no, all good,” she said. “She knew exactly what to do. I think that says everything about Katie. Her intelligence and her willingness to step up for the team and pick up any role. She did it with a lot of quality today.”
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