Arsenal reinstated Chloe Kelly into the starting line-up for Wednesday night’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid. Kelly set up two goals from right-wing crosses when the teams met in March and would have had a hat-trick of assists from that vantage point had it not been for an offside flag ruling out an Alessia Russo effort.
https://youtu.be/b1w3v27rEh0?t=25
The other goal that night came from a setpiece. So when Arsenal scored twice against Madrid on Wednesday, once from a Kelly cross and once from a setpiece, Arseblog News asked Renee Slegers whether they once again planned to expose the visitors with wide deliveries.
‘We saw that there’s opportunities against our fullbacks in wide areas. We worked a lot with the overloads and wide areas, but we see more and more when you start to commit numbers wide. I think with the superiority that we have with Olivia Smith and Chloe Kelly started in those wide areas, in the 1 V 1s and that’s something that was part of the game plan to set up as much as possible.
‘Chloe having had such an impact against Madrid last year with those crosses and the type of cross that we wanted against Madrid. I think we had a couple of them. I wish we did even more.’ Kelly attempted 14 crosses in the 63 minutes she was on the pitch at Meadow Park, this from a team who tend to prefer low crosses into the box. Let’s look at some examples of how Arsenal used wide overloads to expose Madrid’s weaknesses defending high balls into the penalty area.
Mariona collects the ball centrally here and Maanum has shifted wide right to create an extra body. This is because Mariona wants to feed Chloe Kelly and Maanum wants to take attention away from Kelly.
Mariona passes to Maanum who then funnels the ball to Kelly, Maanum continues her underlapping run to make sure Kelly is not doubled up on. Kelly shifts the ball and hits a high cross into the area asap. It is dealt with by Misa on this occasion but the idea is clear.
Given the lack of aerial prowess in the Arsenal team, we don’t usually see them this assertive on corners. They line up far more like the men’s team from corners here, with players stationed on the back post before rushing in. This is because Arsenal feel they have the whip hand aerially, Arsenal have won 48% of their aerial duels in the WSL this season, in this game they won 66%.
Maanum glances this just wide with a Madrid defender sprawled on the ground. It looks remarkably similar to Russo’s second goal on the night, but this header just misses the target.
Fox sends this throw-in down the line for Russo on the right.
Kelly is not tracked at all as she makes an underlapping run, which Russo finds and Kelly sends another high ball into the box which Madrid scramble clear.
When a part of your game plan involves getting the ball to your right winger, having Kyra Cooney-Cross’ diagonal passing is a boon. Here she sprays the ball to the right first time.
Kelly has Yasmim isolated, she shifts and gets the ball into the area instantly but it doesn’t quite have the desired elevation and Madrid clear.
Russo fishes the ball out to Kelly here and we immediately see Fox arriving to provide an overload. We also see that Yasmim is isolated again.
Fox sets the ball back to Kelly and there is no prevarication. It is a first time cross and look again at the high, loopy trajectory, it’s exactly the same delivery we see for Russo’s first goal. This time Russo flicks the ball onto Maanum in the six-yard box and Madrid scramble clear again.
Once again, we see an aggressive shape from this corner. This is not how Arsenal usually take corners, they are lined up in Madrid’s area and the corner is aimed under the crossbar. Misa takes this one on this occasion but the intent is clear again.
Kelly briefly stays on the left after the corner, again, we see Cooney-Cross’ ability to spread play to find her.
As soon as Kelly gets the ball she has one thought in her mind and this dangerous cross just drifts beyond Maanum and out.
We see at the beginning of the second half that the idea is the same. Mariona lays the ball off to Kelly here.
She takes one touch and fires another high cross straight in. Russo is pushed as the ball comes in because Madrid are panicked by the tactic. Lakrar heads this clear however.
There is a small irony that when the equaliser comes from a Kelly cross, she initially tries to find Maanum on the underlap before the ball is intercepted and comes back to her. At that point, Kelly once again hits a high, looping delivery first time and Russo duly heads it in to level the score.
Again we see Maanum bearing right here to create an overload. She gives the ball to Kelly and it is, once again, one touch and cross from the England international.
Her cross finds Russo, whose shot is blocked on this occasion- and she is offside in any case.
Arsenal create another right-sided overload here as Wubben-Moy feeds Kelly, who spins and plays a ball in behind to Maanum on the underlap.
Maanum sets it to Fox and this time it’s the American who scoops a first time cross into the area. Again, Russo is shoved in the back as it arrives and Madrid panic, the ball makes its way through to Smith who just doesn’t quite catch it right and shoots straight at Misa.
Kelly comes off at this point but as Beth Mead lines up to take the corner, we again see the Arsenal players gathered at the back post to attack the delivery.
And exactly as we saw with the early Maanum header, Russo gets a free glancing header with a Madrid defender easily shrugged aside and cowered on the floor.
Arsenal put a total of 28 crosses in during the Madrid game, the highest number in any game this season. Half of them came from Chloe Kelly. Kelly has assisted three goals against Madrid this year from right-wing crosses, Russo has scored four goals against this opponent from crosses and it’s easy to see why Slegers and Arsenal prioritised this tactic again on Wednesday.