“You go away a week after and you have to put this performance and this result forward. I think this is probably the clearest one.”
The Arsenal boss praised her players’ mental strength heading into the second half after failing to convert their chances in the first 45 minutes.
“It was 0-0 but we felt dominant,” Slegers said. “I could see in the players’ eyes they were believing.
“You have to train your mind … That’s what the girls and the team do so well at the moment.”
Russo, who was twice denied a hat trick for straying offside, also explained the importance of staying calm.
“We knew we were doing well in the first half. We felt good. We felt like we had momentum and we said we wanted to be more patient in the final third because we knew we needed to score,” she told TNT Sports post-match.
“We had a lot of belief all week, we knew what we wanted to do, we knew what we were capable of as a team and we have done that tonight.”
The north London side booked their place in the semifinal in front of a club record UWCL quarterfinal crowd of 22,517.
‘We always feel very proud and grateful for the fans that we have,” Slegers said. “But today, a record again, they mean so much to us … It’s a synergy we create.”
Arsenal will face eight-time champions Lyon, who are managed by former boss Joe Montemurro, in the semifinals after their win over Bayern Munich earlier on Wednesday.
