For the most part it wasn’t the most thrilling of performances, but Arsenal got the job done with a 4-1 win against Vålerenga as they begin life without Jonas Eidevall.
“It’s been a couple of hectic days, and we felt it was good to give the players as much stability as possible, in the days but also in the lineup,” said the interim manager Renée Slegers, the former Netherlands international who had replaced Eidevall at Rosengård before joining the Swede at Arsenal last year as an assistant.
Eidevall’s resignation this week brought an increasingly toxic narrative around the side to a halt. This was the opportunity for a new beginning. A chance to fix the rocky start to the season that has already cast doubt on Arsenal’s title credentials. One win from their opening four WSL games and the concession of a 13-minute hat-trick to condemn them to a 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich were the final straws for Eidevall’s reign. This was the year the manager had to deliver, and their limp opening showed, despite the best of intentions, he couldn’t.
The rapid turnaround following Eidevall’s exit, with the former manager having handed in his resignation on Monday, the team told on Tuesday morning and this Champions League tie on Wednesday, helped focus the players and staff around them.
“It’s been a lot of emotions, I’ve always respected Jonas a lot, enjoyed working with him, he’s done a lot for the club in three to four years,” said Slegers. “So, I was sad. It was about managing emotions and doing what we can.”
She and the rest of the coaching staff had limited time to unpick the problems that plagued the latter stages of Eidevall’s tenure ahead of the visit of Vålerenga.
There was just one change to the side that suffered a tough 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates on Saturday, with Lotte Wubben-Moy out of the squad with concussion and Laia Codina lining up alongside Leah Williamson instead. For the Norwegian champions, who sit 11 points clear at the top of the Toppserien with four games of their season remaining, there were two changes to the team which earned a 3-0 win over Lyn at the weekend.
On a humid evening, the home fans roared the team into its new dawn at kick-off. They were celebrating almost immediately, with Emily Fox swapping full-back for fox in the box, turning in a ball which had come down off the arm of Alessia Russo into her path after Caitlin Foord put the ball in from the left. Vålerenga could feel aggrieved, with VAR not in use until the knockout stage, but the goal was cathartic for a team that has struggled to capitalise on their many chances created in recent weeks.
The second arrived after 30 minutes of sustained pressure and chances that should have allowed them to put the game to bed. Mariona Caldentey threaded the ball to Beth Mead, who, having swapped sides with Foord, saw her effort take a deflection and be pushed away by Tove Enblom before Foord fired in at the back post.
Just as the problem of profligacy and hesitancy up front will not go away overnight, neither have the problems at the back and that Vålerenga pulled one back was no surprise, despite Arsenal’s dominance.
It was Codina who was at fault, failing to deal with pressure from Karina Sævik. Sævik forced the defender to the floor before nicking the ball and setting up Olaug Tvedten to score past Daphne van Domselaar.
Barcelona bounced imperiously back from their defeat at Manchester City last week and Hammarby caught the nine-goal backlash.
Caroline Graham Hansen started the rout of the Swedish champions in the 10th minute, and the Norway forward's two-goal haul was matched by Claudia Pina as the Women's Champions League holders ran riot. It matched Barcelona’s biggest win this season at the Johan Cruyff Stadium: the 10-1 win against Granada last month.
Pernille Harder followed up her 13-minute hat-trick against Arsenal by scoring Bayern Munich's second goal in a 2-0 win at Juventus.
The Denmark veteran pounced on a loose ball in the goalmouth after a corner in to wrap up the victory. It was a near-copy of how Bayern opened the scoring in the first half when a scramble in the goalmouth led to Linda Dallmann’s volleyed shot.
Bayern’s two wins in Group C bookended their first loss in the German league in almost two years, 2-0 against two-time European champions Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Arsenal would finally restore their two-goal lead through Caldentey with five minutes remaining, before Russo fired in a fourth.
There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful looking forward. The quality of the players at Slegers’ disposal is not in question. Up next on Sunday are West Ham, a side who took points off Arsenal last season. The mission will be to reach the international break unscathed so they can reassess.
“Proud of them, they also got together yesterday and said they need to step up,” said Slegers of her players. “That’s what you saw. So, all credit to them.”
