Renée Slegers was positive after Arsenal Women completed the job against OH Leuven to secure their Champions League quarter-final place.
Renée Slegers said the most important thing was getting the job done after Arsenal Women beat OH Leuven 3-1 at a rain-soaked Meadow Park to seal a 7-1 aggregate win and book a Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea.
Already 4-0 ahead from the first leg in Belgium, Arsenal took the lead when Alessia Russo struck low, only for Sára Pusztai to equalise after a VAR review overturned an offside flag. In difficult conditions the hosts were tested at times, but they regained control after the break.
Caitlin Foord won the penalty that allowed Mariona Caldentey to restore the advantage, before Russo added her second of the night to complete a comfortable progression into the last eight.
“That’s the most important thing,” Slegers said after the match. “I think we entered this game with a 4-0 lead, we win today with 3-1 so overall 7-1 win over two legs so, we’re happy with that.
“Today wasn’t easy with the circumstances, but we played in the circumstances, we did it and we won, that was the most important thing and now we go and go through to the quarter-finals.”
The head coach also praised supporters who turned out in difficult weather at Meadow Park. “Yes, unbelievable because I think they have the same spot as we had basically, and the rain going straight into your face and the wind, and the football that wasn’t always the prettiest because the circumstances were different but hopefully they saw fight on the pitch,” she said.
“So, thanks again because they were loud and thanks for getting us through it.”
Attention now turns to the quarter-final meeting with Chelsea, with Slegers keeping her focus on the immediate schedule. “Yes, we look forward to it,” she said. “We’re really happy that we now secured a spot in the quarter-final. For us, it’s Bristol City on Sunday, then an international break, then the next block will start.”
Caldentey, whose penalty proved pivotal on the night, acknowledged the challenge posed by Leuven. “Leuven has done a really good job,” she said. “The three games I’ve played against them [were tough], but we wanted to be in that quarter-final so we are really happy. It was not an easy game, so we take it.
“It’s the Champions League, it’s the quarter-finals so it will be really tight [against Chelsea]. We respect Chelsea a lot, but we want to be in the semi-finals so we will try our best.”