Russo warns Arsenal Champions League tie is ´nowhere near done´

Alessia Russo warned Arsenal “the tie is nowhere near done” despite holding a 3-1 lead over Chelsea after the first leg of the Women’s Champions League quarter-final.

Stina Blackstenius, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo were all on target for Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to give the reigning champions a strong lead ahead of next week’s second leg.

Chelsea had started brightly, hitting the post twice in the opening eight minutes, while Lauren James had halved the deficit to make it 2-1 with a sublime long-range chip.

The Blues also had a goal ruled out late in each half, but Arsenal had done enough to ensure they have the advantage.

Asked about what the message was at half-time, Russo told BBC Sport: “We wanted to stay calm. We knew there were things we needed to tighten up on.

“2-0 is really tough, and the next goal is really important. We wanted to remain calm in and around our box, and then LJ [Lauren James] scored an incredible goal, and it was about getting momentum back into the game.

“We want to be a bit more dominant on the ball at times, but overall, it was a good night.

“We definitely know that with two goals, it can change in an instant. It is nowhere near done. We’ll have to prepare really well and see what we can improve on from this game.

“They came out really well, and we’ll need to settle that.”

Russo’s goal was her eighth in the Champions League this season, setting the outright record for the most goals by an English player in a single edition of the competition.

“I didn’t know that!” she added. “Hopefully, more goals and more wins in this competition.

“I just knew I had to hit it quickly because I felt someone coming. I knew I could only take one touch and hit it.”

As for Chelsea, this is the first time they have played three or more games against the same side in a campaign without winning at least one match since 2018-19 (D2 L2 versus Manchester City).

They have now drawn one and lost two of their matches against Arsenal this season in all competitions, but Chelsea had their chances.

The Blues had 14 shots, with six of those on target, accumulating 1.5 expected goals (xG), a marginally better total than Arsenal’s 1.4 xG.

“I think we can probably all say that [Chelsea deserved more],” Bompastor told BBC Sport. “As a team, we had a good performance.

“It’s difficult to say that when you lose the game and concede three goals, but I think we deserved better and more on the day.”

On the referee’s decision-making over the disallowed goals, she added: “It was not good enough.

“When you are playing a quarter-final of the Champions League, you need to have the best referees. Especially when you have the VAR. I think it’s crazy the goals we got disallowed were actually good goals.

“The referee whistled before the VAR checked the decision. When you know the VAR is there, allow the goal, and if the goal is not allowed because there is a fault, you just disallow the goal. So, I think it was not good enough.”