Renée Slegers was in high spirits as we got our first three points on the board in the UEFA Women’s Champions League this season.
After seeing Beth Mead provide the opener and Alessia Russo get on the end of a delightful Chloe Kelly free-kick, our head coach provided her assessment on the match.
“A good atmosphere, great stadium, great pitch,” she said. “It was a nice Champions League night. The first half, I think we spent a lot of time in their half. We didn't really move the ball quick enough to create big chances with the possession we had, but I think we did well out of possession and nullified their threat. We had to stay patient, work on the details.
“I’m so happy with the early goal in the second half, and then the energy of the game changers coming in, bringing new energy, bringing new qualities. And then the second goal was really nice for us, of course. Coming from a set-piece, that was really good.
“Sometimes when those passes are given, we want to use them, so really well done by the set-piece coach and players to recognise that.”
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There was an element of good fortune about our first goal, when Mariona Caldentey’s cross wasn’t dealt with and Mead was able to poke the ball home, but that’s testament to the attitude required to create our own luck.
“Of course there's times when everything clicks and you're in momentum and flow and there are times when that's not the case,” Renée added. “You have to find ways. And that's what we've been talking about. I'm really happy with us, when we don't create the big chances and loads of chances, that we find ways to win the game today. And that's where set-pieces become really important. So I'm really happy with the win today.”
Lastly, we asked Renée how she will be using the next two weeks - the October international break - to reflect on our start to the season.
“Yeah, it's always a big reflection moment for us as a staff,” she said. “Especially the first week, we will review both pre-season and the first block of games. And then the second week, we will preview the next block that's coming up. So it's always a good moment for us.
“There's plenty of learnings and plenty of energy is built to start the next block again. And I'm happy there's a lot of players going to international camps. We'll have a couple of players at home and everyone will do their thing, but I look forward to the start of block two.”
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