Mead and Russo on target as Arsenal beat Benfica | OneFootball

Arsenal were made to work for it but goals from Beth Mead and Alessia Russo gave them all three points in Portugal.

The Gunners were back in Lisbon for this one at Benfica's Estádio da Luz, just down the road from Estádio José Alvalade where they lifted the Champions League last season.

This wasn't quite the swashbuckling performance of champions though as Renée Slegers’ side battled to all three points.

Indeed, after a bright start from the WSL side, Benfica did well to limit Arsenal to very few opportunities of note.

The best chance of the first period fell to a Benfica player, when Diana Gomes forced Daphne van Domselaar into a fine save.

It took until the 57th minute for the Gunners to break the deadlock when a Mariona Caldentey cross bounced around the box before eventually going into the back of the Benfica net. Initially, it looked like it would go down as an own goal from Diana Gomes but Beth Mead in fact had the last touch.

There was genuine concern late on when Emily Fox had to be taken off due to injury with Laia Codina taking her place. The American defender didn't look happy as she was taken off and Arsenal will be hoping that is not a serious issue.

The game was wrapped up just before the end of the 90 minutes when substitute Chloe Kelly put in a low free-kick delivery that fooled the Benfica defence and allowed Alessia Russo to prod the ball home.

It may not have been a vintage performance but Arsenal showed their spirit to grab the points, which at this stage is all that matters especially after defeat on the opening day.