Alessia Russo hat-trick sinks Benfica as Arsenal win 3-0 in the Women's Champions League

Russo scores three times

Alessia Russo scored all three goals as Arsenal beat Benfica 3-0 at Meadow Park in London on Wednesday, 28 October, in the third matchday of the Women's Champions League league phase. She opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a sweeping finish that Lena Pauels could not stop. She headed in from a corner in the 66th minute, and her 79th-minute penalty followed a foul by Catarina Amado on Caitlin Foord.

A record night for the 27-year-old forward

The BBC reports that the first goal, her 21st in the competition, put her level with Fran Kirby, and the header from the corner gave her the standalone record as England's all-time leading scorer in the Women's Champions League. Her penalty took her tally to 23 goals in Europe. Russo had failed to score in her first five matches of the season, but she has since scored nine goals in her past seven games for club and country.

Chances and near misses

Benfica competed well in the opening half and created clear openings of their own. Frøya Dorsin was through alone in the 30th minute but chipped the ball over the bar. Pauels made saves from Georgia Stanway in the 26th minute and from Olivia Smith in the 33rd. Foord thought she had scored a fourth goal for Arsenal, but it was ruled out for offside after a check by the Video Assistant Referee. Coverage at half-time singled out Amado and Pauels for their performances, and Benfica's set-piece defending was also praised.

Table and Benfica's campaign

Arsenal now have seven points, level with Lyon at the top and Chelsea in third. Benfica remain 11th with three points, from a 2-1 opening win away to Juventus and a 3-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich, which marks their second successive loss in the competition. RTP notes that a place in the knockout play-off is still within reach. Observador reports that the teams placed fifth to 12th in this league phase, which has 18 clubs in one group, go through a play-off for the round of 16, and that Benfica were aiming to finish in the top 12 after a 16th-place finish in 2025/26.

Lyon7

Arsenal7

Chelsea7

Benfica3

Lyon

7 points

Arsenal

7 points

Chelsea

7 points

Benfica

3 points

Data from the article text

Relief for Arsenal and Slegers

The result eases pressure on Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers, who faced growing scrutiny after a run of five WSL matches without a win. Arsenal ended that run in Saturday's north London derby against Tottenham, and a second successive victory adds to their confidence before the knockout phase of the competition.

What comes next

Benfica host Austria Wien on 11 November. Austria Wien are 14th with one point and play Juventus at home on Thursday, 29 October. Benfica's domestic league run of 47 consecutive matches without defeat, last broken in April 2024, is also noted by Observador.