It took Alessia Russo only 14 minutes to show the rest of the world, why she is one of the most requested strikers in women’s football.
Arsenal followed two goals against Real Madrid by entering the second stage of their quarter -final at the Emirates, and their hopes of raising a first trophy of the Champions League in 18 years have gradually hunted themselves in the distance.
Forty-five seconds after the whistle in the second half, Russo was released while swinging. First of all, she raised a hand when she saw Chloe Kelly with the ball at the edge of the area. Kelly did not need to ask twice, pulling the ball into the box with a perfectly weighted pass so that Russo can run and type at home for the first time.
A few moments later, Russo punctuated him in the box and blocked a Madrid defender, releasing the space behind her so that Mariona Caldentey meets, and the winner of the Spanish World Cup converted.
Finally, Russo saved the best until the end. Katie McCabe wrapped a free kick in the box, and a ricochet on the head of a Madrid player diverted Russo. Half -drop, half sparkle, Russo stretched out, her boot connecting cleanly while she exploded the ball into the roof of the net. Finally, the 26 -year -old allowed himself to celebrate.
Russo burst into the lionesses during the 2022 winning campaign in euros, coming as a submarine alongside his Manchester United teammate, Ella Toone, the two having a telepathic relationship both on and off the field. Russo previously described how she felt firmly in her comfort zone in United – and the arsenal movement disrupted this.
Arsenal goes to Lyon on Sunday to overthrow their deficit of a goal in the semi-finals
Alessia Russo made his name with the lionesses during the winning campaign of 2022 in euros, as a submarine next to her teammate of Man United Ella Toone
Russo previously described how she felt firmly in her comfort zone in Man United
Despite a slow start to life in the north of London, there was always an underlying feeling that the goals would come when she and the team took time to settle and develop their links on the ground. She ended up offering 12 goals in the elite at the end of her first season with the Gunners, second behind the prolific Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw by Manchester City.
Since Renee Slegers succeeded Jonas Eidevall in the first stadiums of this season, Russo’s Rise has nothing less than meteoric, because his full game has also improved. His ability to maintain the ball allows his team to quickly build their attacks around them, and Arsenal scored more goals than any other part of the WSL this season with Russo as top scorer – a considerable feat given their first misfortunes under Eidevall.
And a small careful partnership began to emerge with Chloé Kelly – who herself took giant steps since he had the Manchester exchange for London in January of this year.
Those who are linked to the club say that Kelly’s friendships with the arsenal lioness contingent helped her settle and run the ground, and she started to bring out the best of her teammates around her, including with Russo.
When Russo retired from the England camp at the start of this month with an ankle injury, there was an immediate feeling that the hopes of Arsenal in the Champions League had been seriously damaged.
But it is understood that Russo left the doctors of the club impressed by the speed with which she worked to return in time for the first stage of their confrontation in the semi-finals with Lyon-that they follow 1-0.
Far from the field, the word that follows Russo is respect. Respect for his teammates, respect for coach staff. “ Hard work ” is her mantra, and she shows him both in the field and outside, with her tireless and out of possession work rate contributing to the success of Arsenal under Slegers.
Regardless of what is happening next, Arsenal can always be proud of the season they had after their opening matches, when they sat sixth in the WSL and had faced heavy grouping by Bayern Munich in the group phase – which was the last straw that broke the back from Camel to Eidevall at the door.
Russo trained a small careful partnership with Chloe Kelly – who herself came to a giant step since he had the Manchester for London in January this year
Since Renee Slegers succeeded Jonas Eidevall in October, the Russo climb was meteoric
Since then, they have climbed above the two Manchester teams in second place and in a place of qualification of the Champions League and carried out a respectable race in the elite competition of Europe, going to the semi-final with memorable victories in the inverted match against Bayern Munich, as well as this triumphant Real Madrid.
Then they turned to Lyon, who managed to spend their last consecutive semi-finals. The leaders of the first league did not seem infallible in the first leg, however, the emphasis being more on the waste of Arsenal rather than on their own domination.
In terms of statistics, Arsenal did everything properly in the first half of their tie in the semi-finals. They dominated possession, had more shots than Lyon with as many people on the target, and almost twice the amount of keys inside their box.
And if Russo’s bar effort before the break had plunged a few centimeters, then the story could have been very different for the Sunday match.
And with their largest travel quota for an outside European game – and Russo leading the line – the Gunners always have every reason to believe that it could be their moment.
