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Match report: Benfica 0-2 Arsenal<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>Full time: Benfica 0-2 Arsenal<\/p>\n Arsenal\u2019s Champions League defence is up and running after a hard-fought victory in Lisbon. It was rarely pretty and never easy against a very solid Benfica defence, but second-half goals from Beth Mead* and Alessia Russo gave them an ultimately deserved victory.<\/p>\n * It may go down as a Diana Gomes own goal but it looked like Mead got the last touch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 90+5 min Benfica know their race is run, but they\u2019ve made Arsenal work extremely hard for this victory.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 90+1 min: Chance for Benfica There will be eight minutes of added time. Benfica almost get one back from a corner: Ucheiebe\u2019s header isn\u2019t held by Van Domselaar, but she recovers to make a very brave save at the feet of Diana Gomes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Chloe Kelly stood over a free-kick on the left wing, 25 yards from goal, with everybody expecting a lofted cross to the far post. Instead Kelly threaded a low pass around the wall and into the corridor of uncertainty between defenders and goalkeeper. Russo, who knew what was coming, was first to react and sidefooted the ball past Pauels on the run. That\u2019s such a good goal.<\/p>\n Alessia Russo slots the ball home to double Arsenal\u2019s lead. Photograph: Alex Burstow\/Arsenal FC\/Getty ImagesRusso then celebrates with her teammates. Photograph: Pedro Rocha\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.58 EDT<\/p>\n GOAL! Benfica 0-2 Arsenal (Russo 89)<\/p>\n Alessia Russo seals victory after a brilliantly worked free-kick!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 87 min Caldentey pulls back Davidson to stop a Benfica break and is booked.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 85 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Katie McCabe and Laia Codina replace Emily Fox and Steph Catley. Arsenal are down to the bare bones in defence.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 84 min Now Steph Catley has gone down and needs treatment. Meanwhile Fox is being walked round the outside of the field; she looks in a fair bit of distress.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.45 EDT<\/p>\n 83 min A long-range shot from the substitute Leticia Almeida is waved over the bar by Van Domselaar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 82 min Emily Fox needs some treatment and looks in a fair bit of pain. She\u2019s walking very slowly from the field and will presumably need to be replaced.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 80 min: Triple substitution for Benfica Lara Martins, Carissa Boeckmann and Leticia Almeida replace Diana Silva, Beatriz Cameirao and Caroline Moller.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 77 min A better spell for Benfica. Martin-Prieto plays an excellent reverse pass into the area towards Gasper, whose cross is chested away at the near post by Catley.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 75 min It may not have been the most coruscating performance from Arsenal but I do think their patience in the first half is being rewarded now. The Benfica defence looks shattered.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 73 min A long cross from the left is fractionally behind Wubben-Moy, whose header flies off target as a result. Very tough chance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 72 min I did Beth Mead a disservice \u2013 she actually scored that goal, not Diana Gomes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 71 min: Benfica substitution Cristina Martin-Prieto replaces Marit Bratberg Lund.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 70 min: Arsenal substitution Caitlin Foord comes on for Olivia Smith.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 69 min Benfica have carried less threat on the counter-attack in the second half, which along with the goal has enabled Arsenal to take a firm grip on this game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 67 min Kelly spots Pauels off her line and tries to score from about 50 yards. It\u2019s a nice effort but Pauels has time to get back and make the save; I think it was drifting wide anyway.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 66 min Lucia Alves fouls Smith, who responds by pushing Alves over. Both players are booked.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 62 min Russo is pulled back by Cameirao, who receives the first yellow card of the night. It was a booking but I\u2019m not sure it was much different to the foul by Mead in the 52nd minute.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 61 min: Benfica substitution The 16-year-old Carolina Tristao is replaced by Chandra Davidson.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 60 min: Arsenal substitutions Chloe Kelly and Stina Blacksteinus replace Beth Mead and Kyra Cooney-Cross.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Caldentey, on the right side of the area, screwed a low cross on the turn towards Mead at the near post. The ball was cut out by a defender but Mead kept scrapping and pressured Diana Gomes, who poked the ball nervously past Lena Pauels and into her own net.<\/p>\n Edit: it looks like it was actually Mead\u2019s goal, a reward for some admirable persistence.<\/p>\n Arsenal take the lead. Photograph: Alex Burstow\/Arsenal FC\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.01 EDT<\/p>\n GOAL! Benfica 0-1 Arsenal (Diana Gomes og 57)<\/p>\n Arsenal take the lead through an own goal from Diana Gomes!<\/p>\n Mead (second left) and teammates celebrate having taken the lead. Photograph: Armando Fran\u00e7a\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.00 EDT<\/p>\n 56 min Mead evades Amado with a neat bodyswerve on the left\u2026 but then she can\u2019t keep the ball in play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 52 min Alves is frustrated again when Mead escapes a yellow card for a cynical foul that thwarts a Benfica break. She definitely had a case that time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 51 min There\u2019s no VAR intervention so presumably Smith didn\u2019t land a full-blown elbow on Alves.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.11 EDT<\/p>\n 50 min Lucia Alves stays down holding her face after a challenge with Smith. We\u2019ve only seen one replay, and the angle wasn\u2019t great, but Alves is motioning to the referee that she was elbowed.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 47 min A cross from the right almost falls for Mead, who is well tackled by Diana Silva (I think). Little then shoots high and wide from distance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 min Peep peep! The second half is under way; no changes on either side yet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Half-time reading<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Half time: Benfica 0-0 Arsenal<\/p>\n Stalemate in Lisbon. Arsenal have been kept at bay by an extremely hard-working Benfica, who have defended as if a clean sheet depends on it. Whether they can maintain that defensive intensity for another half remains to be seen.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.52 EDT<\/p>\n 45 min Two minutes of added time. Smith waves her arms around, a symbol of Arsenal\u2019s growing frustration. They\u2019ve had most of the ball \u2013 around 70 per cent \u2013 but Benfica have come closest to scoring.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>41 min: Fine save by Van Domselaar!<\/p>\n Gasper\u2019s deep free-kick from the left is met by Diana Gomes, who powers a beautifully timed header towards goal from 12 yards. Van Domselaar flies to her left to push it round the post. That\u2019s an excellent save.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 38 min Moller knocks the ball off Wubben-Moy and behind for a\u2026 goalkick to Arsenal. Benfica are understandably frustrated because it should have been a corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 36 min This time Mead does manage to cut inside Amado to create a shooting chance, but Ucheibe flies across to make her second important block of the half.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 32 min I thought the game was opening up; I\u2019m not sure it is. Arsenal need to be patient: Benfica are working so hard defensively and will struggle to keep it up for 100 minutes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.35 EDT<\/p>\n 30 min The resulting corner is swung beyond the far post by Cooney-Cross. It\u2019s met by Wubben-Moy, whose downward header goes a few yards wide. Not a bad chance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 29 min Mead is found in a bit of space on the left side of the area. She shapes to shoot, then tries to come back inside on her right foot; Amado reads it and makes an important tackle.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.31 EDT<\/p>\n 25 min Smith nicks the ball off a Benfica defender\u2019s toes, moves to the edge of the area and sweeps a shot that is well blocked by the lunging Ucheibe. Feels like the game is slowly starting to open up.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.28 EDT<\/p>\n 23 min Diana Silva beats the Arsenal offside trap, running onto a long crossfield pass from left to right, and curls a shot from a tight angle that is comfortably held at the near post by Van Domselaar.<\/p>\n Benfica’s Diana Silva gets a shot away despite the presence of Arsenal’s Taylor Hinds. Photograph: Pedro Rocha\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.32 EDT<\/p>\n 21 min A deflected cross from Caldentey is spilled badly by Pauels, who is relieved to dive on the loose ball in front of Mead.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 18 min Mead curls a free-kick onto the roof of the net from 25 yards. A good effort, though the keeper Lena Pauels had it covered.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15 min There\u2019s kind of nothing to report. It\u2019s not a bad game at all; there just hasn\u2019t been any incident.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 11 min The match has become more evenly matched \u2013 and a little scruffier \u2013 after a very confident start from Arsenal. Still no shots on target at either end.<\/p>\n Arsenal’s Lotte Wubben-Moy (centre left) goes up for a header with Benfica’s Caroline Moller. Photograph: Armando Fran\u00e7a\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.30 EDT<\/p>\n 8 min And nothing comes of that either. Benfica are at least enjoying their first extended spell in the Arsenal half.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min Nothing comes of the Arsenal corner \u2013 and then Smith concedes one at the other end with an overhit pass back to Van Domselaar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4 min No chances to speak of but Arsenal have started really well. Smith\u2019s cross is turned behind for the first corner of the game\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Peep peep! We\u2019re under way in Lisbon and Arsenal are already zipping the ball around with confidence.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSome things to like in the Arsenal lineup, but also some things to fret over,\u201d says Charles Antaki, inadvertently capturing the defailt emotional setting of the association football fan. \u201cGood to see Taylor Hinds on from the start; she\u2019s less, er, combative than Katie McCabe but seems to have more zip about her at the moment. Kyra Cooney-Cross in midfield will please a lot of fans who want a bit more oomph in that department. Delighted to see Lotte Wubben-Moy back in, of course; but it only underscores the fact that Leah Williamson is still very much out and very much missed. And at the back of it all there is the crisis\u2013murmur. So a thoroughly convincing win, please.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Full time: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Man Utd <\/p>\n As the players line up for the anthems in Lisbon, a quick note on a very hard-fought victory for Manchester United in Madrid. Yara El-Shaboury has more.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Renee Slegers\u2019 pre-match thoughts<\/p>\n [On returning to Lisbon] They\u2019re great memories \u2013 we\u2019re staying at the same hotel \u2013 but we start from scratch and we\u2019re very focussed on the here and now.<\/p>\n [On her team selection] We\u2019ve played a lot of games in this block. There are always a lot of things that go into the decisions but the the main one is the quality we have in the squad.<\/p>\n Every game is a must-win for us, that\u2019s how we see it. We have big belief in who we are and what we do. We\u2019re looking forward to tonight.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Informative, passionate, entertaining. But enough about me and my prose, that\u2019s also the tagline for Moving the Goalposts, our weekly women\u2019s football newsletter. Here\u2019s the latest edition.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Manchester United, who have been down to 10 players since before half-time, lead 1-0 against Atletico in Madrid. You can follow the last quarter of that game with Yara El-Shaboury.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Team news<\/p>\n Four changes for Arsenal from Sunday\u2019s 1-0 win over Brighton. Lotte Wubben-Moy, Taylor Hinds, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Beth Mead come in for Katie Reid, who is injured, Katie McCabe, Frida Maanum and Caitlin Foord.<\/p>\n Benfica\u2019s team includes Carolina Tristao, making her full debut at the age of S-I-X-T-E-E-N.<\/p>\n Benfica (possible 4-3-3) Pauels; Amado, Gomes, Ucheibe, Lund; Tristao, Cameirao, Gasper; Alves, Diana Silva, Moller.<\/p>\n Subs: Rute Costa, Prat, Joana Silva, Martin-Prieto, Almeida, Carole Costa, Engesvik, Martins, Pauleta, Davidson, Boeckmann, Guedes.<\/p>\n Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Van Domselaar; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, Hinds; Little, Cooney-Cross; Smith, Caldentey, Mead; Russo.<\/p>\n Subs: Codina, McCabe, Maanum, Kelly, Foord, Pelova, Nighswonger, Blackstenius, Harwood, Liddiard.<\/p>\n Referee Miriama Bockova (Slovakia).<\/p>\n