Arsenal Secure Women’s Champions League Group Stage Spot with 4-1 Aggregate Win Over Hacken
Arsenal 4-0 Hacken (4-1 aggregate): Jonas Eidevall’s Side Dominates Second Leg to Qualify for Women’s Champions League Group Stage
In their UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifier against Hacken, Arsenal pulled off an incredible comeback, winning 4-1 on aggregate after trailing 1-0 in the first leg. The Gunners advanced to the tournament’s group rounds alongside Chelsea, Manchester City, and Celtic thanks to goals from Lia Walti, Mariona Caldentey, Beth Mead, and Frida Maanum.
Lia Walti’s goal and Mariona Caldentey’s first as a summer signing turned the tie around for Jonas Eidevall’s team, who had been behind 1-0 after the first leg in Sweden.
Jennifer Falk, the goalkeeper for Hacken, parried Walti’s long-range attempt halfway through the first half, but the ball struck the net off the back of Falk.
Then, five minutes before the half, Caldentey at the back post hit the net with a deflected attempt that spooned up over the line following a breakaway involving Alessia Russo and Beth Mead.
Mead’s beautiful goal shortly after halftime, which saw him flip the ball over a Hacken defender and crash a volley into the far corner, gave Arsenal further momentum in the match.
And with just over ten minutes remaining, three Arsenal substitutes came in as Caitlin Foord was supplied by Kyra Cooney-Cross on the left side of the box, and the Australian set up Frida Maanum for a beautiful first-time finish to score the fourth goal.
Although Arsenal were fortunate to have goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger preserve their lead with a few strong second-half saves, including one outstanding one from Hacken striker Clarissa Larisey, they ultimately ended up drawing fairly easily with Chelsea, Manchester City, and Celtic in the Champions League group stage.
Beth Mead, the winger for Arsenal, to Sky Sports News:
“We can still improve on a lot of things, so it’s not perfect, but we performed better this week than we did last week in terms of ball control, switching the ball, and converting opportunities. Overall, a strong performance.
As a group, we are always aware that we will create opportunities. We had opportunities again over the weekend, but we failed to take them. Although we had a lot of opportunities and converted them, I missed a header in the first half of the match today. That was the distinction between the two ties.
“We’re in the Champions League group stages, which is where we want to be, but it’s a nice start to the season; we wanted three points at the weekend. Although it was a difficult game over the weekend, it is a major goal of ours.”
Jonas Eidevall, manager of Arsenal, to Sky Sports News:
We were aware that this would be a difficult night for us. However, we entered the game with great confidence. As a team, we have overcome a great deal of adversity in the past, and we were determined to do it again tonight.
Because of their intense pressing, it’s critical to have good off-ball structure. You shift the attack’s focal point; we successfully did it a few times and caused them significant harm. They enjoy building out the rear; the secret is to press and intensify just right. We made progress in those two areas.
“We talked about boldness before the game and how every move you make could decide the outcome. We were thrilled that Lia Walti took a chance at that precise moment, as it provided us with the momentum we needed to win tonight.”
Man City advances with an eight-goal aggregate victory
With a 3-0 victory over Paris, Man City won 8-0 overall, allowing Gareth Taylor to rest a number of his starting players in the second half.
In windy circumstances in east Manchester, his team took the lead in just two minutes thanks to a charge by Khadija Shaw on Paris goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnodizie, who set up Chloe Kelly for the finish.
Then, in the 31st minute, Kelly saw her effort palmed onto the angle of the post and crossbar. Kelly then cut the ball back from the byline to give Shaw another.
Late in the first half, Shaw scored the game’s winning goal from the penalty spot after being tripped in the box; however, Clara Mateo struck the post for Paris.
