Maanum beats Rosenborg to extend Arsenal’s Champions League adventure | Women’s Champions League

Few games as dominant as this one will end 1-0, but that will not bother Arsenal. Frida Maanum’s goal was enough to secure victory over Rosenborg and a place in the second round of Champions League qualification.

Arsenal played beautiful football for 90 minutes, never dropping below 80% possession and mustering 29 shots to five. All that was missing was more to show for it on the scoreboard.

Jonas Eidevall spent part of his pre-match press conference praising the unpredictability of football, describing the attempt to “gain a real understanding and grasp of this dynamic and challenging sport” as “a lifelong quest”.

The battle for the new season began in style at Boreham Wood, with Arsenal beating Rangers 6-0 to reach the first qualifying round final against Rosenborg. But progressing to the group stage is no easy feat.

Last season, Eidevall’s team went down at this point, losing on penalties to Paris FC. That elimination, after the injury-plagued squad had fought to secure a place in qualifying, has haunted the team ever since. In every interview around the start of this season, the determination to right that wrong was clear.

To say that Arsenal really understood the task at hand would be an understatement. Rosenborg had shocked Atlético Madrid on penalties to set up this draw, Arsenal had to be on top of it, and they were.

Fluid, dynamic and sharp, the home side forced the Norwegian team to their lowest point, with every player except striker Rebecka Holum trying to withstand the constant pressure.

Unchanged from the Rangers defeat, Arsenal took a little longer to find the breakthrough, but it came in the 19th minute and Wednesday’s hat-trick hero Caitlin Foord provided the delivery, with a cross-cum-shot from the right that was saved by keeper Rugile Rulyte. However, Mathilde Harviken made an error in her clearing and Maanum fired home from close range.

Arsenal picked up the thread again in the second half, with Alessia Russo forcing a smart save with a header to bolster her deflected effort that had grazed the top of the crossbar in the first half. As the game wore on, Rosenborg were given a respite, allowing them to leave their own half and occasionally enter enemy territory. Holum even managed to curl a long-range shot past Manuela Zinsberger, but the flag was rightly raised, the forward well offside.

With no more goals to celebrate, Arsenal fans on the North Bank entertained themselves for a good 10 minutes by singing a new song for summer signing Mariona Caldentey, “Shake it Caldentey, twist and shout…”, which rang out around the stadium as the standing block behind Rosenborg’s goal bounced up and down, matching the energy they saw on the pitch.

In the 70th minute it was time for a change, with striker Stina Blackstenius coming on for Maanum. Arsenal were closing in on a second, but were twice stopped by the crossbar shortly after Blackstenius’ entrance. Russo, who had dropped behind the Swedish striker, was the first to shake the woodwork with an effort from the edge of the area, before Kyra Cooney-Cross did the same from an almost identical position.

In the end, Maanum’s goal was enough and Arsenal will go through to the draw for the second round on Monday, where Manchester City’s campaign begins.