Russo completes Arsenal’s comeback against Tottenham in the WSL

Alessia Russo converted a second-half penalty to give Arsenal a win over Tottenham in the WSL after her side had fallen behind in the north London derby. The result was Arsenal’s second WSL win of the season and offered relief to Renée Slegers and her team after five matches without a victory.

Arsenal took a few minutes to settle, then held the ball more effectively and began to threaten. Tottenham opened the scoring from a corner: Victoria Pelova delivered the ball into the area and Cathinka Tandberg rose above her marker to head home. Georgia Stanway, who had been unable to contest that aerial challenge, levelled four minutes later, meeting Russo’s cut-back and driving the ball in under the crossbar.

Arsenal kept possession but could not find another opening before half-time. Following a lengthy stoppage, Russo forced an important save from Lize Kop as she tried to turn in Caitlin Foord’s cross. Tottenham then cleared the ball onto Morris’s arm, and the referee pointed to the spot. Russo sent Kop the wrong way and struck low into the corner to put Arsenal ahead; her side held on to the lead.

The result came with pressure building on Slegers and her players after their run without a win. The supplied Premier League standings place Arsenal second on 18 points and Tottenham 17th on 6, a 12-point gap. After seven matches, Arsenal have six wins and one defeat, with 11 goals scored and five conceded. Tottenham have one win, three draws and three losses, with six goals scored and ten conceded. Across their last five Premier League matches, Arsenal have won four and lost one, while Tottenham have one win, three draws and one defeat.

Slegers and her team now have matches against Benfica, Aston Villa and Liverpool, followed by fixtures against Barcelona, London City Lionesses and OL Lyonnes.