Rain, Pitch and Regrets: Arsenal Women Set for Emirates UWCL Fightback after defeat to Real Madrid

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·19 mars 2025

Rain, Pitch and Regrets: Arsenal Women Set for Emirates UWCL Fightback after defeat to Real Madrid

Tuesday night in Madrid, at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, didn’t go as planned for Arsenal Women.

Gooners were hoping the girls would head to Madrid, do enough to beat Real Madrid, and then finish the job at the Emirates Stadium next week. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The Spanish side secured a 2-0 win over our girls, with Linda Caicedo and Athenea del Castillo scoring the goals.

Vidéos OneFootball

The defeat leaves Arsenal Women with a daunting task ahead when the two sides meet for the second leg of their UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final clash next week, at the Emirates. The match will take place on Wednesday 26th March, kick-off: 20:00 UK. Arsenal Ticket information.

Much was observed in last night’s defeat, but what really cost Arsenal Women the game?

1. The Weather and the Poor State of the Stadium

On that rainy Tuesday evening, the playing surface at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium left much to be desired. Players found themselves covered in mud, and the ball often refused to roll smoothly. Arsenal legend Ian Wright criticised the condition of the pitch, calling it a disgrace. Reflecting on the issue, Renee Slegers admitted via TNT Sports, “Of course, the weather is not always in our control. But we’ve seen a couple of games lately where the pitch conditions haven’t been great, and I think that’s the next step for women’s football to take.

“All credit to [the players] for trying and the work rate. We are confident that we can do something against them at the Emirates, because it’s only half-time.”

The poor pitch conditions undoubtedly held Arsenal Women back from playing their best football. The team couldn’t move the ball as quickly as they’d have liked, allowing Real Madrid to set up a solid defensive structure.

2. Not Starting Russo in Attack

Many Gooners were surprised to see Stina Blackstenius chosen ahead of Alessia Russo to lead Arsenal’s attack. Some speculated that coach Renee Slegers was relying on Stina’s runs in behind, considering Real Madrid’s high defensive line—a strategy meant to create space for midfielders to exploit.

However, the plan didn’t go as hoped. Real Madrid appeared to have anticipated Arsenal’s tactical approach and defended brilliantly. It left many wishing we’d utilised Alessia Russo to truly challenge their defence.

Russo has been exceptional this season in the striker role, scoring 10 goals in her last 16 games for Arsenal. After her outstanding performance against Everton, many expected her to pick up where she left off in the 3-1 win. Unfortunately, she was deployed as a #10 against Real Madrid. While she performed decently, it left us wondering how much more she could have contributed as the #9.

Sometimes, the best course of action is to play your top players in their strongest positions and trust them to deliver.

Some might argue our defending could have been better and suggest Renee Slegers shouldn’t have substituted Kyra Cooney-Cross. However, I believe the two factors highlighted above were the main reasons behind our struggles.

That said, let’s not lose faith in this team. Real Madrid Women became only the third team (after Chelsea and Liverpool) to prevent Renee’s Arsenal Women from scoring. During that time, Arsenal Women have netted an impressive 64 goals in all competitions.

Next Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium, the team is more than capable of turning the tie around.

What do you think Gooners? Do you still have confidence that we can make it to the Women’s Champions League semi-finals with an explosive turn-around against Real Madrid at N5 next week?

Michelle M

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