Latest news with #KimLittle
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Celebrate Arsenal and Chelsea wins with Women's Football News
The June 2025 Edition of Women's Football News is available now as we bring you features and interviews from around the women's game. The June 2025 edition of Women's Football News is now available as we bring you all for the latest news and reaction from the Women's game. It will of course look back on a night to remember for Arsenal as they were crowned European Champions. The Gunners stunned Barcelona to win the Champions League final in Lisbon. We have reaction from captain Kim Little, boss Renee Slegers as well as Lionesses stars Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo on Arsenal's victory. There is also a poster to keep to remember the achievement. Across London, Chelsea are also celebrating having completed an unbeaten domestic treble by lifting the WSL title, the FA Cup and the League Cup. We take a look back their remarkable season with a big interview with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, while there is also reaction from Millie Bright and manager Sonia Bompastor - who lays down a challenge to the rest of the WSL. And the top flight will have another club from the capital next season following the promotion of the ambitious London City Lionesses. Owner Michele Kang tells us that 'anything is possible' for the club in the coming years. We name our WSL team of the season and - along with our regular features including round-ups of the top-flight and Championship seasons, all the latest news around women's football, National League specials and our grassroots spotlight - we have an exclusive interview with Scotland international Claire Emslie on her life in LA playing for Angel City. And to round it all off, we preview the Lionesses' Nations League games as we count down to this summer's European Championship in Switzerland.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Arsenal are the champions of Europe: Women's Football Weekly
On the podcast today: Arsenal pull off a sensational 1-0 win over Barcelona to lift the Women's Champions League for the first time since 2007. Stina Blackstenius was the hero in Lisbon, Kim Little became a European champion, and Renée Slegers cemented her remarkable start in charge. The panel relive the match, the atmosphere and the iconic celebrations that took place across Lisbon and north London. Plus, the panel speaks with Adrian Jacob, head of football at World Sevens Football, about the inaugural tournament in Portugal, its reception from players and clubs, and what's next for the format. All that, your questions, and a thoughtful discussion on the future growth of the women's game. Sign up for our weekly women's football newsletter – all you need to do is search 'Moving the Goalposts sign up' or follow this link. Support the Guardian here.
ITV News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- ITV News
Arsenal lift trophy at the Emirates Stadium
Arsenal have celebrated with their fans outside the Emirates Stadium. The team could be seen lifting the trophy to celebrate their UEFA Women's Champions League victory. The women's team took to the stage at the north London stadium in front of fans who waved their red flags below. Red and white confetti surrounded the players as they showed off their long-awaited trophy. On Saturday the Gunners defied the odds to secure a 1-0 win in the final against Barcelona, who were overwhelming favourites. It was the first time Arsenal Women's team had won the tournament in 18 years. Arsenal Captain Kim Little said she was incredibly proud of the team and it had been a privilege to celebrate the achievement with fans.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arsenal celebrate 'magic' Women's Champions League win with fans outside Emirates Stadium
Leah Williamson hailed Arsenal's 'magic' Women's Champions League victory as the squad celebrated with fans in north London. The Gunners were crowned champions of Europe on Saturday night, upset the odds to stun favourites Barcelona and win 1-0. Stina Blackstenius scored the second-half winner as Arsenal lifted the Champions League trophy for a second time. They remain the only English winners of the competition. Thousands of fans gathered by the Emirates Stadium on Monday morning, before the players and staff gathered on stage to address the crowd. They took it in turns to lift the trophy, each time greeted with huge roars from those gathered below, while a playlist including Sweet Caroline and The Best blasted out. England captain Williamson, who joined Arsenal at the age of nine, revealed she was adamant the club were going to win the Champions League after beating Lyon in the semi-finals. 'I've been saying the whole time,' Williamson said. 'All my team-mates will tell you, I said 'do you believe in magic?' That's what I could feel. I knew it was going to happen against Lyon, I knew it was going to happen in the final. And magic delivered. "It's a difficult task to defend against Barcelona. It was a bit of an onslaught at time but we did good. We had a game plan and everyone delivered. "My club. My Arsenal. Champions League winners. European champions. Let's go." Katie McCabe also took the microphone and led the crowd in serenading club captain Kim Little, before adding: "I've been with these girls for 10 years. Red is in my blood. These group of girls is everything you need.' Blackstenius was the hero for Arsenal in Lisbon, coming off the bench to deliver the winning goal and write her name in the club's history books. With Alessia Russo in fine form, the Swedish striker has had her opportunities limited at times this season, but she took her chance on the biggest stage. "It's a huge game to play,' Blackstenius said. 'I was quite nervous of course. We spoke about stretching them, it only takes one opportunity. "It all went so quick. It was a really, really good pass. I just tried to hit the target. When I saw it was actually a goal I was a bit in shock at first. I'm just so happy."
New York Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Arsenal became European champions for a second time: Pressing, doubling up and smart subs
Underdog victories in major finals aren't usually achieved so convincingly. Arsenal were rank outsiders going into the Champions League final against Barcelona on Saturday, with odds of up to 14/1 for them to win the game in 90 minutes. Player for player, Arsenal might only get a couple of names into the starting XI of Barcelona, the dominant side in this competition in recent years. But collectively, Arsenal were unquestionably superior, recording an unlikely but thoroughly deserved victory. Advertisement This Arsenal side is comprised almost solely of highly technical players. Centre-backs Steph Catley and Leah Williamson are a former left-back and a former midfielder respectively. Central midfielders Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey are No 10s at heart. Renee Slegers has eschewed old-school centre-backs and functional holding midfielders, and stuck to her Plan A despite knowing Arsenal would spend long periods without the ball. It worked brilliantly. Arsenal's system was 4-4-2 without possession. The defensive line was high, keeping the shape compact, and Alessia Russo and Frida Maanum worked together to shut down Barcelona's build-up play. While Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati receive the most praise, the Barcelona player that requires special attention is right winger Caroline Graham Hansen, whose dribbling can destroy opponents. But Arsenal were incredibly diligent at getting various players around her. Here, Caitlin Foord drops back to help out Katie McCabe, and Graham Hansen is dispossessed when she tries to go past them. Here's a similar situation, although this time it's central midfielder Little who goes out to confront Graham Hansen, with Caldentey her closest support. It doesn't make sense, on paper, for Arsenal's midfield duo to both find themselves in the left-back zone — and the edge of the box is completely empty. But that showed Arsenal's determination to shut down Barca's most dangerous player. In other situations, too, Arsenal's wingers worked incredibly hard. Here's a classic Barcelona move, with Mapi Leon releasing Fridolina Rolfo on the overlap, after Arsenal right-back Emily Fox has got sucked into tracking Claudia Pina dropping deep. Rolfo is well in advance of Foord, briefly playing on the right, and is one of the quickest players on the pitch. But Foord made up an incredible amount of ground to produce a brilliant tackle, which she celebrated like a goal. Here's an example from the second half. Substitute Salma Paralluelo is down the left, and Barca are building an attack. Chloe Kelly, on the halfway line here, isn't in a great position to help stop her. But Kelly makes a 30-yard recovery run to tackle Paralluelo, who seemed surprised to see Kelly was even there. Also highlighted is Putellas on the ground — Kelly had also blocked off her run. Arsenal needed to be brave with their pressing — that's what brought their memorable 4-1 victory at Lyon, and it's the only way to seriously cause Barcelona problems. They did that well throughout the game, working in pairs to win possession high up the pitch. Here, Pina thinks she's free for a pass from Rolfo. But both Maanum and Little are closing down from either side. Pina only spots Little, to the right. She turns left, and runs into Maanum, who makes the tackle. Then Little picks up the loose ball, and Arsenal are on the attack. Here's a similar situation. Goalkeeper Cata Coll plays the ball into Putellas, who doesn't know Kelly is behind her and about to shut her down. Kelly makes the tackle, and two Arsenal players are on hand to take charge. Really, Caldentey didn't make the most of this situation. Arsenal's only problem was playing Russo in behind. This early ball in behind from Kelly was the right idea, but Leon stepped up at the right time to play her offside (as she did for Arsenal's disallowed goal, incidentally). The next time Arsenal were in a similar situation, Russo went too early, was in an offside position, so had to halt her run. Then it was Foord who made the run in behind instead… …but Coll swept well, and Foord was flagged offside anyway. This became a particular problem for Arsenal at the start of the second half, when Barcelona were starting to build pressure and Arsenal kept giving the ball away. Here, Williamson tries to play Russo in behind. But she's not quite on the shoulder of the last defender, and is always second-favourite. Leon is in control, and gets to the ball first. This ball from Williamson, aimed towards Russo, was also a good example of how Arsenal weren't getting it right. Was it a cross or a through-ball? Neither was likely to be effective, with Irene Paredes blocking Russo's run. But Slegers had a plan. Stina Blackstenius — who Slegers played alongside in their days at Linkoping in Sweden — is often criticised for inconsistent finishing, but few players are better at making runs in behind the defence. And when Maanum went down injured, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce Blackstenius, stretching the Barcelona defence. Shortly after coming on, and thanks to a misplaced pass from Rolfo, Blackstenius had the game's clearest chance so far. Note the position of fellow substitute Beth Mead, also bounding in behind, and also of Russo, now asked to play deeper, almost as an extra midfielder. At this point, the pass to Mead on the outside was possibly on… …but Blackstenius had a decent crack at goal herself, placing it too close to Coll. But Blackstenius' introduction clearly changed the game. Here, Fox curls a long ball in behind the defence. Compared to the aforementioned Williamson pass to Russo, Blackstenius is on the last line of defence. She's also up against Paredes, who sometimes lacks speed. The centre-back just about reaches the ball first, but can only put it behind for a corner. And Blackstenius winning that corner led to Blackstenius winning the game. In the second phase of the set piece, the other substitute, Mead, turned onto her left foot and, spotting Blackstenius was free thanks to Paralluelo charging forward towards the ball, slipped her in. Blackstenius, backing away from the defenders to find an extra half-yard of space, controlled the ball and swept it home. One-nil to the Arsenal, as the song goes. It's difficult to think of a more comprehensive tactical performance in a European final — an underdog who didn't have to ride their luck, and who overcame more celebrated footballers courtesy of organisation, discipline and in-game management. 'It was the perfect execution of a game plan,' said Little. 'Which, as a footballer, is one of the best things.'
