Alessia Russo goal gives Arsenal win over Paris FC in Women's Champions League

Match

Arsenal claimed a 1-0 away win over Paris FC at Stade Jean-Bouin on Wednesday in their second UEFA Women's Champions League group-phase match, with striker Alessia Russo scoring the only goal in the 41st minute, according to BBC.

Arsenal dominated possession for much of the first half — holding 73% of the ball after the opening quarter-hour — but struggled to create clear chances. Paris FC set up defensively with a six-player backline and looked dangerous on the counter: goalkeeper Misa Rodriguez had to make a save from an Aurelie Reynders effort, while Mariam Toloba's 25-yard shot flew over the bar. Arsenal's best chance before the goal came from a Lisa Baum corner, which Russo headed narrowly wide. Russo eventually broke the deadlock to secure the win for the Gunners.

Line-ups and injuries

Arsenal manager Renée Slegers made two changes from Sunday's 0-1 WSL defeat to Chelsea: Misa Rodriguez returned in goal in place of Anneke Borbe, while Lotte Wubben-Moy came in for the injured Steph Catley. Arsenal lined up: Misa; Fox, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, Batlle; Stanway, Cooney-Cross, Little (captain); Baum, Mariona; Russo. Besides Catley, who is managing a back issue, Chloe Kelly was also unavailable due to a hamstring problem, according to Arsenal.com.

Context

Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 home win over HB Koge and, with this result, recorded back-to-back wins to start a UWCL campaign for the first time since 2022/23. Paris FC had lost their previous Champions League match 2-5 at Barcelona and have now lost four straight UWCL matches against Real Madrid or Barcelona by an aggregate score of 4-12. In France's Division 1 Feminine, Paris FC had two wins and two defeats before this match, including a 1-7 loss to Lyon. The match was refereed by Romania's Elena Demetrescu.