Women’s Champions League: Paris FC recover from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Arsenal

On 50 minutes, Georgia Stanway put Arsenal two up. Paris FC, beaten 5-2 in Barcelona on matchday one, were holding their home evening together by a thread. Half an hour later they had a 2-2 draw, built in fifteen minutes of play.

A comeback built in fifteen minutes

Alessia Russo had opened the scoring just before the break (41st). After the restart, Stanway doubled the lead from an Emily Fox cross (50th). Paris FC lived on 30 per cent of possession, four shots on target to six, and the game was drifting away from them.

Clara Matéo started the recovery in the 72nd minute: played in by Évelyne Viens, the captain rounded Misa Rodríguez and rolled the ball into an empty net. The late equaliser came from an Arsenal mix-up. Rodríguez passed the ball to Leah Williamson to clear, the referee ruled that the pass had put the ball in play and penalised a handball. The VAR confirmed the call and Maeline Mendy converted from the spot (87th).

“It’s a mistake, unfortunately … but we let them back into the game before then. I’m really happy to have scored, it’s a tough moment, but we have to keep building on Sunday (against Manchester City) and in the rest of our Champions League games,” Russo said in the Guardian, which named Stanway player of the match. Arsenal’s own report calls the penalty decision a dubious one.

What the point means for both clubs

Arsenal dropped two points after their 1-0 win over HB Køge. Along the way, Russo became the second-highest English scorer in the competition’s history, one goal behind Fran Kirby.

Paris FC, fourth in Arkema Première Ligue after three games, collect the first point of their campaign. It lands in a season where the club is putting resources behind its women’s team: according to L’Équipe, backed by new investors, the club has added a data analyst, a nutritionist and a psychologist to the staff, and the training and academy centre is set to grow from 8 to 16 hectares.

Ticket sales followed the same momentum: 10,000 sold by 25 September, with a target of 15,000 spectators for the visit of Arsenal. Coming back from 2-0 against a side aiming at the knockout rounds: this was the evening Paris FC wanted to put on at Jean-Bouin.