"Arsenal took a huge step towards qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 4-0 win over OH Leuven in the first leg of their play-off clash. Frida Maanum was on target either side of Olivia Smith's 37th-minute strike, while Alessia Russo rounded off the scoring in the second half as the Gunners proved too much for their Belgian opponents."
"Victoria Pelova went close to adding a third shortly after the break as her left-footed strike went narrowly wide of the right post, though Maanum combined with Foord again as the former tapped in from close range. Daphne van Domselaar was called into action shortly after the hour mark, tipping over a long-range effort from Alixe Bosteels, though that was Leuven's only shot on target."
"It was a dominant display from Renee Slegers' side in the end as they produced 2.67 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots to Leuven's meagre 0.14 from five attempts. And Smith's goal was a deserved reward for her performance. The 21-year-old registered the most shots in the match (five), most touches in the box (16), completed the most dribbles (6/10) and won the joint-most duels (eight - tied with team-mate Laia Codina)."
Arsenal won the first leg of their Champions League play-off 4-0 against OH Leuven, with Frida Maanum scoring twice, Olivia Smith adding a 37th-minute goal and Alessia Russo finishing in the second half. Maanum headed the opener from Caitlin Foord's cross and tapped in a second after the break following another Foord combination. Leuven registered only one shot on target as goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar tipped over an Alixe Bosteels effort. Arsenal produced 2.67 xG from 19 shots versus Leuven's 0.14 from five, and Smith led the match in several attacking metrics.
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