Renée Slegers was delighted with our display in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Chelsea in the Barclays Women’s Super League at Stamford Bridge.
Beth Mead fired us into the lead on derby day before setting up Mariona Caldentey for our second moments later.
At the end of a brilliant afternoon which our supporters made the most of, our head coach said: “Of course I enjoyed it. The way the players handled this moment and go about it and play with so much bravery and confidence on the pitch. Of course, I'm happy.
“I think when the second goal was scored, that was a special moment because one goal is only one goal away against Chelsea. The game was still open, there were a lot of minutes in play still, but the second goal meant so much. Even though there was still a lot to manage after that second goal, because Chelsea were still creating, they obviously have a lot of quality on the pitch. Players that can shoot and have individual actions, but also a lot of things that we had to manage.
“I think at the end of the day, maybe we were lucky a couple of times in the box, but I think Anneke managed the box so well. I'm very proud of that performance.”
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Report: Chelsea 0-2 Arsenal Women](https://www.arsenal.com/fixture/women/2026-Jan-24/chelsea-women-women-match-report?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
It was all the more impressive considering we were without the suspended Olivia Smith as well as players like Chloe Kelly, Frida Maanum and Kyra Cooney-Cross.
“That's why we have the squad we have,” Renée continued. “There was a lot of clarity going into the game, what we wanted to achieve, the roles that the players are going to play. They did it with full conviction, so I'm really happy for the squad and the players.”
Lastly, Renée had a message for our supporters, who didn’t stop singing all game and created a fantastic atmosphere.
“They were so loud,” she said. “They were all staying after the game and the way the players connected with the fans and how they kept on singing the songs. I think during the warm-up there was a song by the DJ and they just made it our Arsenal song. They're amazing, so thanks so much again for all the support today.”
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