Arsenal 6-0 FAR Rabat: Alessia Russo and Olivia Smith score fine solo strikes as Gunners cruise into Women's Champions Cup final
Report and free highlights as goals from Stina Blackstenius, Frida Maanum, Mariona Caldentey, Olivia Smith and an Alessia Russo double see Arsenal thrash African champions FAR Rabat 6-0 to reach inaugural Women's Champions Cup on Sunday, live on Sky Sports
Wednesday 28 January 2026 21:44, UK
Arsenal strolled into the inaugural Women's Champions Cup final and banked a minimum £750,000 prize money after demolishing African champions FAR Rabat 6-0 at the Brentford Community Stadium.
A perfect night for the Gunners saw them in full control from start to finish and three goals ahead after 20 minutes, which gave head coach Renee Slegers the perfect opportunity to manage her players' game time and give a 20-minute cameo to the returning Chloe Kelly after almost two months out.
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Having watched CONCACAF champions Gotham FC stunned by Corinthians earlier on Wednesday, Arsenal were never in danger of suffering the same fate from the moment Stina Blackstenius nodded in their opener from a corner with eight minutes gone.
FAR Rabat found life difficult from crosses all night and were two behind from another within three minutes when Frida Maanum met Olivia Smith's delivery on the turn and lashed in a second.
A VAR penalty award for a handball from another cross allowed Mariona Caldentey to add a third with barely 20 minutes on the clock, before Smith ended the game as a contest five minutes before the break following a fine solo run.
Slegers took the opportunity to rest some of her side, who face a third game in eight days against Corinthians on Sunday, with a pair of changes at the break - but it was the introduction of Alessia Russo on the hour mark which sparked an anti-climactic second half back into life.
Live FIFA Women's Champions Cup
Five minutes after her arrival she fired home on the rebound from Maanum's shot, before netting a superb sixth in front of watching England manager Sarina Wiegman 10 minutes later after cutting into the box from out wide.
Arsenal will net a cool £750,000 for reaching the final but could still make £1.7m in total if they emerge victorious against Corinthians on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Watch ALL the goals as Arsenal cruise to victory
Slegers: Team is just clicking well
Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers to Sky Sports:
"We made some changes and the team just clicks really well together at the moment. They are very disciplined at the moment, score goals in different ways and we had to deal with the unknown playing against them so I am really happy."
On those changes: "The players are doing well. We needed fresh legs after the Chelsea game, motivation and inspiration, and that's what all the players brought."
Analysis: Perfect night for professional Gunners
Sky Sports' Ron Walker at Brentford Community Stadium:
"There is always the chance of an upset in cup football but Arsenal's professional and willingness to do the dirty work earned them the opportunity to earn such a big victory against a side crowned African Champions League winners in November.
"Ultimately it was as much of a mismatch on the pitch as the scoreline, but that should not take away from the clinical touch of Alessia Russo, ending a run of five games without a goal, though the Gunners could have won by an even greater margin had some others remembered their shooting boots.
"Arsenal's ruthlessness from the first whistle to end the match as a contest by half-time allowed Renee Slegers a perfect opportunity to rotate her squad - having already made six changes from Saturday's win at Chelsea - while Chloe Kelly looked sharp when she made her return after two months out.
"Slegers later told reporters the England winger had been chomping at the bit ahead of her return and it showed. So too were most of her team-mates, and a repeat performance like that on Sunday in their home stadium will surely prove too much for Corinthians.
"The head coach swerved questions about how much the £1.7m prize money would help the club but with almost a week left of the WSL transfer window, which shuts at 11pm on February 3, it would be a surprise if Arsenal's director of women's football, Clare Wheatley had not at least had an Excel spreadsheet open to work out the finances of any potential incomings."
