Cliff Notes – Arsenal’s Slegers wary of ‘intense’ Benfica

Arsenal manager Renée Slegers emphasises the need for her team to match Benfica’s intensity in their upcoming Women’s Champions League match in Portugal.
Following a recent victory over Brighton, Slegers aims to build momentum after a challenging start to the league phase, including losses to Lyon and Manchester City.
Benfica, coming off a defeat to Juventus, is described as an aggressive team with strong psychological presence, which Slegers acknowledges as a significant challenge.

Women’s Champions League: Arsenal’s Slegers wary of ‘intense’ Benfica

Arsenal boss Renée Slegers wants her side to match Benfica’s intensity when the holders look to get the defence of their Women’s Champions League title back on track in Portugal on Thursday night.

The holders slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Lyon at Meadow Park in their opening fixture of the new-look league phase, which followed a 3-2 loss at Manchester City in the Women’s Super League.

Having ended a four-match winless run with a 1-0 WSL victory over Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Slegers has challenged her players to build some momentum when they head to Lisbon to face a Benfica team looking to recover from their own European loss to Juventus.

“They [Benfica] are a very aggressive and intense team to play against,” Slegers, who reported no new injury concerns from Sunday said.

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“They have a psychological presence and believe in what they are doing, so we expect a lot of intensity in the game, which we want to match and always want to bring as well.

“We want to deal with it in a good way and create control in the game for ourselves.”

Arsenal’s win over Brighton was their first in exactly a month in all competitions. Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Elsewhere on Thursday, Bayern Munich, thrashed 7-1 at Barcelona, will be out to kickstart their European campaign against Juventus.

Real Madrid will look to follow up an impressive 6-2 win over Roma with another three points when they head to Paris Saint-Germain, who lost 4-0 at Wolfsburg.

UWCL League Phase tableGPWDLGDP1 – Barcelona1100632 – Atlético Madrid1100633 – Real Madrid1100434 – Wolfsburg1100435 – OL Lyonnes1100136 -Juventus1100137 – Manchester United1100138 – OH Leuven1010019 – Paris FC10100110 – Chelsea10100111 – Twente10100112 – SL Benfica1001-1013 – Arsenal1001-1014 – Valerenga1001-1015 – Roma1001-4016 – PSG1001-4017 – Bayern Munich1001-6018 – St. Polten1001-60