5 takeaways from Champions League matchday five

The UEFA Women's Champions League was back for matchday five as all three English sides claimed victory on the European stage.

Chelsea stretched their unbeaten run out to fourteen games as Sonia Bompastor's Blues continue to tick on Europe's biggest stage.

Interim head coach Renee Slegers continues to flex her muscles as she holds charge of Arsenal, after the north London club registered a 3-1 victory over Valerenga in Oslo.

Despite early injury heartbreak for Gareth Taylor's Manchester City side, the team were able to push on and defeat St. Polten 2-0 at the Joie Stadium.

90min have looked at the five key learnings from matchday five of the Women's Champions League...

Russo in firing form as the 'Reneesaince' continues

Arsenal made it six wins in a row as they flew past Valerenga in a 3-1 victory on Thursday night. A freezing night in Oslo did nothing to deter the Gunners, as they maintained their unbeaten run under the interim management of Renee Slegers.

Alessia Russo was the star of the evening, scoring a brace to solidify the three points for the north London club. The striker played a much wider role than usual, with Slegers opting to start her on the left side of Stina Blackstenius. The change of tune did nothing to deter the England international, as her cool finish into the bottom-right corner gave Arsenal the early lead.

The brace on matchday five of the Champions League marks Russo's eigth goal in nine competitive fixtures for the Gunners. Early doubts that came along with the striker's scoreless spell have well and truly been put to bed as she extends her firing form.

Blues bruise another opponent

It's fair to say that Chelsea look nothing short of formidable. The Blues took another victim on Wednesday evening as they thumped FC Twente 6-1 under the lights at Stamford Bridge.

Sonia Bompastor has made the task of being Emma Hayes' successor look easy, having now gone 14 games unbeaten since her arrival. Nothing has particularly changed, but the air of inevitability in this Chelsea side is a scary sight for all opponents.

Despite the ever-growing list of injuries piling up in the physio room, Bompastor continues to manage a heavily rotated side like clockwork. Chelsea don't seem to miss a beat, even in the moments where they appear most vulnerable. Still without the likes of Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel leading the line, they managed to register six different goal scorers on the scoresheet against Twente.

Not much has changed since the reign of Hayes, but Chelsea look near impossible to beat even on their worst days.

Man City's injury woes worsen

It was a sore sight for City fans as captain Alex Greenwood was substiuted from the ground in the early stages of the side's match against St. Polten. The centre-back seemed to have fallen awkwardly on her knee, and City were forced to go on without their skipper.

Whilst we still await news on the extent of her injury, head coach Gareth Taylor is faced with a growing headache in the selection room. Star forward Lauren Hemp is still recovering from her knee surgery last month, whilst Vivianne Miedema isn't expected back until the new year. On top of this, Taylor confirmed that star striker Khadija Shaw is unlikely to appear for the Cityzens until the new year after having scans performed on a possible injury.

City have struggled in the face of adversity before. In the 2023/24 season, the Cityzens saw their momentum fall away immediatley after Shaw was injured in the final weeks of the season, allowing Chelsea back in the door to win the league. As Taylor's side prepare to face Barcelona on the road for a chance to top their Champions League group, they will have to be proactive and prepared to face Europe's best without key stars.

Same old faces leave the European gap wide open

As we enter matchday six of the Champions League, all eight quarter-finalists have been solidified. England's Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City all go through to the knockouts, along with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, VfL Wolfsburg and Lyon.

The list of the next round's contestants are all faces we have grown so used to seeing, with not one new face or dark horse in the mix. The 2023/24 season allowed for unlikely challengers Ajax, SK Brann, BK Häcken and Benfica make their make on the final eight. However, this season, we are back to much of the same.

The makeup of the final eight heavily reflects how the European stage can be heavily uncompetitve, and many of the group stage fixtures say the same. Arsenal's 4-0 thrashing of Serie A competitors Juventus, along with Barcelona's 9-0 demolition of Sweden's Hammarby indicates that there is much more work to be done in order to close the gap on Europe's competition.

All comes down to the final day

Although eight clubs have already solidified their quarter-final place in the Champions League, there is still all to play for on matchday six for the three English clubs.

A win for Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City on matchday six will ensure them the top spot in their respective groups, leading to a hypothetical 'easier' draw in the knockout rounds.

Chelsea currently occupy top spot in their group, three points above Real Madrid. Although an away trip to Spain could turn that all on it's head, if Real Madrid are to defeat Chelsea by one goal or more.

The Blues scraped past Las Blancas in a 3-2 victory on matchday one of the compeition, so a victory for Real Madrid next week will see the side surpass Chelsea on head-to-head and goal difference.

Arsenal currently trail table-toppers Bayern Munich by just one point in their group standings, so a victory over the German side by any margin will be enough for the Gunners to take home the top spot. The north-London side have committed a fine turnaround after a 5-2 thumping by the hands of Bayern Munich on matchday one, and will be hoping to complete the comeback even further next week.

Man City have the toughest task of all, as they travel to face defending champions Barcelona in Spain on matchday six. Despite the difficult test ahead, City keep hold of the upper hand as they currently occupy top spot in their group standings.

Following a 2-0 defeat on matchday one of the competition, Barcelona will need to defeat City by a margin of two goals or more if they are to come out on top of the head-to-head statistics and top the group.

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