Russo and Kelly inspire epic Arsenal comeback

Arsenal laid their Champions League credentials out on the crisp Emirates stadium pitch, a remarkable 3-0 victory ensuring their passage to the semi-finals.

- Suzanne Wrack

This was arguably the Gunners' finest performance of the season, Kim Little was metronomic, Leah Williamson elite, Mariona Caldentey hungry, Alessia Russo clinical and Chloe Kelly unplayable, as they utterly dominated from start to finish in front of a record quarter-final crowd of 22,517 fans.

They had been profligate in the first half, but it mattered little, three goals in a rampant 13 minutes, setting up a delicious semi-final against eight-time Champions League winners Lyon and the former Arsenal manager Joe Montemurro.

The vibe around the team had been positive. "We have belief that we can do it", said Renée Slegers beforehand. Arsenal had been here before, overturning a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich to reach the semi-finals last season, but the mountain was that bit bigger, Athenea del Castillo adding to Linda Caicedo's strike in the 82nd minute of the first leg to heap pressure on the Emirates stadium showdown.

There could be no excuses on the carpet-like surface their game is built for, the torrential rain and torn-up pitch at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano providing some forgiving context to the 2-0 loss in Spain. This was at Arsenal's home though, in front of more than 20,000 fans who anxiously urged their team forward again and again as they sought to reduce the deficit early on.