LONDON (AP) — Arsenal coach Renee Slegers is looking forward to playing the return leg against Real Madrid in the Women's Champions League quarterfinals on the Emirates Stadium's good playing surface, saying “it’s going to be easier on a golf course than on rocks.”
Arsenal lost the first leg 2-0 in Madrid last week, when there was criticism of the muddy and slippery field at Estadio Alfredo di Stefano.
English soccer's players' union, the Professional Footballers’ Association, said the safety of players was at risk and Ian Wright, a former striker for Arsenal's men's team, described the playing surface as a “disgrace.” Madrid midfielder Melanie Leupolz injured her knee during the game.
The second leg will be played Wednesday at the Emirates, the home of Arsenal's men's team, and Slegers said that was “good for us.”
“We have a style of play where we want to be on the ball a lot, where we want to move the ball, passes,” the Dutch coach said Tuesday. "Of course it's going to be easier on a golf course than on rocks.
“But we have to deal with any circumstance and if the competition rules say that this pitch is clear to play, then we have to play on it. We like good pitches, of course. I think any team does.”
Arsenal won the Champions League for the only time in 2007 and last reached the semifinals in the 2022-23 season.
Real Madrid's women's team, which was founded in 2020, has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals.
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The Associated Press
