Football Apr 01, 2026

Arsenal Women 5-2 Tottenham Women: Alessia Russo hat-trick keeps Gunners in Women's Super League title fight

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Arsenal Women 5-2 Tottenham Women: Alessia Russo hat-trick keeps Gunners in Women's Super League title fight

Alessia Russo's first-half hat-trick helped Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 in the north London derby to keep alive their Women's Super League title hopes.

Renee Slegers' side needed to respond after Man City had breezed to victory in the Manchester derby earlier in the day and they did thanks to Russo's first treble for the club as the Gunners stayed 11 points behind the leaders with two games in hand.

The England striker opened her tally with a powerful fifth-minute header after being picked out from Katie McCabe's corner, before minutes later latching on to Olivia Smith's pass, rounding the onrushing Lize Kop and slotting the ball home from a tight angle.

Having got themselves back into the game thanks to Frida Maanum's own goal - the visitors' first-ever goal at the Emirates - Spurs then gifted their neighbours a third when Kop passed the ball straight to Russo, who gratefully accepted the present for her hat-trick goal before the half-hour mark.

Russo had eight first-half shots, the joint-most by any player in a WSL game this season, although it was Caitlin Foord who added a fourth just past the hour mark with a thunderous strike into the top corner.

Substitute Bethany England's sweet strike did give Spurs hope on her 200th WSL appearance, only for Stina Blackstenius to come off the bench to poach a fifth for the Gunners in injury-time to send most of the 46,123 fans in attendance home happy.

The comprehensive display extended Arsenal's winning run to 11 matches in all competitions, while it was also a record-extending 17th straight home victory in the WSL, including over Man City and Chelsea, to just about keep them in the title race.

Arsenal hat-trick hero Alessia Russo on Your Site:

"It feels really nice. I love to score goals as much as I can and to do it here at the Emirates in a north London derby is really nice. It's a good three points moving on to the rest of the season.

"The first one, it's a great ball in from Katie. We work on set-pieces all the time and it's nice when one comes off.

"We practise one-v-one finishing all the time in training, so it is about decision-making and using the goalkeeper to make your mind up. As soon as she came out I knew I was going to take it around her.

"Then the third one, again something that we do a lot is high pressure and making that count."

Arsenal boss Renee Slegers on Your Site:

"She's [Russo] now also part of the captain's group at Arsenal. I think she's always herself, wanting to bring her best version, very humble.

"She's lovely to work with, very respectful to anyone she works with or passes by. But you can see she's stepping up and you see moments in training as well where she's instructing more, communicating more, driving the team more.

"Also, she's more vocal and that's really good. She's definitely developing that and we love to see it because she's a great person and she has so much intelligence as well as a footballer."

Arsenal's Caitlin Foord on Your Site:

"We created a lot of chances and put the ball in the back of the net a couple of times, Less [Alessia Russo] getting a hat-trick. We are building our momentum and the girls have been in good form. We wanted to continue that and we did that.

"I was super pleased to get into the game, get that last game out of the way now to move on, and to put the ball in the back of the net again. I'm always pleased about that because I like doing my part for the team.

"The girls have been great since I've been away [at the Asia Cup]. They have scored lots of goals and got lots of wins so it was exciting to watch from all the way on the other side of the world.

"Our next game is massive. Obviously we're up, but it's always a tough game against Chelsea. We know we have to be at our best to get to the next stage."

Tags:

football report

Share this article

Related Posts

Tottenham bosses trying to convince Roberto De Zerbi to take managerial job now rather than end of season - paper talk and football transfer gossip

Tottenham bosses trying to convince Roberto De Zerbi to take managerial job now rather than end of season - paper talk and football transfer gossip

The top stories and transfer rumours from Monday's newspapers...Tottenham bosses want to convince Roberto De Zerbi to take their head coach's job now...

Emiliano Sala: French court dismisses Cardiff's compensation claim against Nantes following death of striker in 2019

Emiliano Sala: French court dismisses Cardiff's compensation claim against Nantes following death of striker in 2019

Cardiff City's claims for compensation in excess of £100m following the death of player Emiliano Sala have been dismissed by a commercial court in Fra...

World Cup 2026: Scotland's John McGinn would 'happily lose friendlies for next 10 years' to qualify for major finals

World Cup 2026: Scotland's John McGinn would 'happily lose friendlies for next 10 years' to qualify for major finals

John McGinn would "happily lose friendlies for the next 10 years" if it meant Scotland qualifying for every major tournament.The national side were bo...

Igor Tudor: Croatian leaves Tottenham Hotspur by mutual consent after just 44 days and seven games in charge

Igor Tudor: Croatian leaves Tottenham Hotspur by mutual consent after just 44 days and seven games in charge

Igor Tudor has left his role as Tottenham Hotspur head coach after seven matches in charge.Spurs made the surprise decision to turn to Tudor just 44 d...

'Igor Tudor's departure was inevitable as Spurs roll the dice one final time in search of Premier League safety'

'Igor Tudor's departure was inevitable as Spurs roll the dice one final time in search of Premier League safety'

Igor Tudor's departure from Tottenham after just seven matches is no surprise, but Spurs must get this final roll of the dice right to maintain their...

What is Alessia Russo's best role for Arsenal - is she most effective as a No 10 or striker?

What is Alessia Russo's best role for Arsenal - is she most effective as a No 10 or striker?

Your Site columnist analyses the big talking points from the latest Women's Super League matches, bringing you closer to the key stories at the heart...