Arsenal Women 3-0 Benfica Women: Russo hat-trick sends Gunners top of the pile
Arsenal Women put on a dominant display at Meadow Park, brushing aside Benfica Women 3-0 thanks to a superb Alessia Russo hat-trick. It was a statement result in the Women's Champions League league phase, keeping Arsenal firmly in the mix at the top of the standings after three games.
Russo opened the scoring on 39 minutes, cutting in from the left side of the box and curling a right-footed effort into the bottom corner after being teed up by Caitlin Foord. The striker then doubled the lead early in the second half, rising to meet a Steph Catley cross following a corner with a close-range header on 66 minutes. She completed her treble from the penalty spot on 79 minutes, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to make it 3-0 and wrap up the points in some style.
Sky Sports reports that Russo's treble made her "the highest-ever English goalscorer in Women's Champions League history" (Sky Sports), while BBC Sport confirms the same landmark, noting she "becomes England's all-time leading goalscorer in the Women's Champions League" with the performance (BBC Sport). A brilliant individual night, then, to go with the team's result.
There were a couple of stoppages for injuries in the first half, with both Catarina Amado and Pauleta needing treatment before play could resume, and Pauleta was withdrawn at the break for Andreia Norton. Benfica's only booking of the night came late on, when Amado was shown a yellow card for a bad foul in the 77th minute. Arsenal made full use of their bench too, with Leah Williamson, Kim Little, Emily Fox, Lisa Baum and Stina Blackstenius all introduced as the game wore on.
The numbers told their own story of home control: Arsenal dominated possession with 63.2% of the ball, rattled off 31 shots to Benfica's five, and forced 15 shots on target compared to the visitors' two. Arsenal also won 12 corners to Benfica's three, though credit to the Benfica goalkeeper, who was called into action time and again and finished with 11 saves to keep the scoreline from getting even more one-sided.
The win moves Arsenal onto seven points from three league phase games, sitting second in the table just behind OL Lyonnes on goal difference, while Benfica remain on three points after a third defeat in their four most recent Women's Champions League outings. In terms of form in this competition, Arsenal's last three Champions League games now read WDW, while Benfica's read WLL after back-to-back defeats.
It capped a solid week for Arsenal following their win over Tottenham Hotspur in the league, and with Russo now firing on all cylinders in Europe, there'll be plenty of confidence heading into the next round of fixtures. For Benfica, there's work to do if they're to turn their European campaign around, but nights like this at Meadow Park will have offered few answers.
Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
