Arsenal interim head coach Renee Slegers insists her side can go all the way in the Women’s Champions League after they beat Bayern Munich 3-2 to top Group C.
Mariona Caldentey’s late penalty sealed victory for the Gunners, who needed to win the game in order to secure seeding in the quarter-finals.
Glodis Vigosdottir scored a first-half own goal before Alessia Russo added the hosts’ second in an evenly-matched game, and Slegers believes they can mix it with the best teams in Europe.
Of her team’s chances of reaching the final, Slegers told DAZN: “We need to have that belief, and we have that belief, especially after today.
“There are things we can do better in the game, but it was the same against Liverpool [1-0 win on Sunday]. We don’t play our best game, but still, we found ways to win and that is a sign of a top team.
“The eight teams that are going through will be top, top teams. It’s positive to see how women’s football has grown and the football being played.”
A BIG THREE POINTS TO CLOSE OUT 2024 pic.twitter.com/fSKZ7LNHQ1
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) December 18, 2024
The Bayern clash was played at Meadow Park, having been controversially moved from the Emirates Stadium due to a scheduling conflict with the men’s team, as they played Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
Slegers claims her side felt just as comfortable at the smaller venue, though, and wanted to concentrate on the game itself.
She said: “It’s so intimate playing here because you are so close to the fans.
“It felt like a home game definitely. The pitch was much smaller. We feel good playing here, we feel comfortable, and it was a good performance.”
