**A historic evening at Emirates Stadium saw the Gunners unravel the deficit to fire themselves through to the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi finals.**
Real Madrid’s emphatic home victory left Arsenal with all of the work to do heading into the second leg. A 2-0 deficit seemed a mountain to climb, but an inspirational Arsenal display left Real Madrid with their jaws on the floor as the hosts stormed home to victory.
Alessia Russo was the hero in N5, scoring twice to put the Gunners ahead on aggregate. Mariona Caldentey had her moment, as the former Barcelona star headed home Chloe Kelly’s pinpoint cross to bury her old foes.
The Lineups
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**ARS:** van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Little, Mariona, Maanum; Foord, Russo, Kelly
**RMA:** Misa; Olga, Lakrar, Mendez, Garcia; Athenea, Toletti, Weir, Angeldal; Caicedo, Brunn
The Action
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The kick off whistle was met by roars for the fans inside of Emirates Stadium, as the Arsenal faithful made their voices heard with scarves above their head.
The eleven Gunners on the pitch certainly matched their energy, threatening Real Madrid from the opening minute. Arsenal were eager to break the deadlock early, as Chloe Kelly continued to deliver opportunistic crosses into the area.
A curling cross looked certain to break the deadlock, as Kelly floated her corner kick toward the back post. Mariona Caldentey found herself with acres of space, but was unable to direct her header which flew over the crossbar.
Despite Arsenal’s dominance, Real Madrid would have been the team to land the first blow if not for the heroics of Daphne van Domselaar. A dribbling deflection landed at the feet of Filippa Angeldal, whose powerful strike was denied by the outstretched arms of a diving van Domselaar. Arsenal fans were presented with flashbacks of the first leg as Linda Caicedo who drove her strike toward the near post. Another brilliant effort from van Domselaar saw the strike denied from close range, but the offside flag had been raised to deny the Colombian forward any opportunity of scoring.
Arsenal continued to stare down the 2-0 deficit as the half time whistle blew, but the narrative flipped within moments of the second half.
It took just 45 seconds for the Gunners to draw one back, as Chloe Kelly located Alessia Russo inside of the box. The visionary cross was met by an instinctive striker run, as Alessia Russo tapped in the remains to bring the score to 2-1.
The noise inside of Emirates Stadium egged Arsenal on for a second, as Daphne van Domselaar collected the ball at her feet just moments after Russo’s goal. Finding Williamson, the defender located Kelly with a visionary ball into the right channel. Pure intelligence from Kelly meant it took just one touch to send the ball into the area and onto the head of Mariona Caldentey, who sent the ball into the back of the net for Arsenal’s second.
At this point, it didn’t feel like there was anything in the world that could stop this Arsenal team. The temperature continued to rise, as Katie McCabe’s curling free kick was brought down by Steph Catley, before Russo’s instinctive acrobatics slammed the ball into the back of the net.
[Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2207074864)
In just 15 minutes, Arsenal had overcame the deficit to take the lead in the Champions League quarter final.
Russo became the hat-trick hero on not one, but two occasions, with two cool finishes that saw N5 erupt in euphoria. Interventions from VAR denied Russo of her celebrations, but the Gunners remained in control of the fixture.
That was until injury time, as Linda Caicedo stormed forward toward goal with a hunger to bring terms back level. Everyone inside of the Emirates held their breath, before van Domselaar saved the day once more to palm the strike away from danger.
The final whistle blew and Arsenal had done it- a semi final meeting with Lyon now set in stone after a historic evening in N5.
**FT: Arsenal 3-0 \[3-2 agg\] Real Madrid**
_The Halfway Line_ Player of the Match – Arsenal XI
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A complete performance that Renée Slegers couldn’t have conjured in her wildest dreams. From Kim Little’s authoritative midfield display to Leah Williamson’s near-perfect defensive showcase, Arsenal were on fire.
Emily Fox and Katie McCabe worked in tandem to control the channels, shutting down Caicedo at every given chance. Caitlin Foord and Mariona Caldentey were electric, and Chloe Kelly could hit a cross target from miles away. Frida Maanum played her role, and Steph Catley was a wall at the back.
If we are being serious, the Player of the Match award should be given to Alessia Russo, who had what very well could have been her best 45 minutes in an Arsenal shirt.