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Arsenal manager Renée Slegers did not attend her post-match Women's Champions League news conference on Wednesday, with sources telling ESPN the Dutch coach was too furious after the former champions squandered a win in a 2-2 draw at Paris FC.
Arsenal had a 2-0 lead — the first time this season they have scored more than once in a game — but threw away their advantage, allowing Paris FC to level in the closing stages.
Defender Leah Williamson handed a freak penalty to the French side after handling the ball, believing goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez was rolling it to her. The referee had deemed that she had played the ball in a pass and therefore, the ball was in play when Williamson picked it up.
Following the match, sources told ESPN that both players and Slegers were in tears and the coach was too upset with the refereeing decision to fulfil her post-match duties. Assistant coach Aaron D'Antino fielded questions from the media instead.
"It's incredibly disappointing, or frustrating I should say, because we felt like for large periods of the game we had good control," he said.
"There were periods of the second half that we were really happy with our attacking intent and that's a key area that we've been working incredibly hard on and we thought we got some good rewards. And then the way that the game ends is incredibly disappointing.
"We didn't think it was a penalty, we don't think the goal kick had actually been taken for what we had seen."
It is not a positive sign for Slegers who has been under immense pressure following a poor run of results.
Despite a 1-0 win over Brighton in their opening Women's Super League (WSL) game, they struggled in a lacklustre 0-0 stalemate with Crystal Palace before leaving it late to rescue a 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
A 1-0 win over HB Køge in the Champions League through a last-minute penalty and a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in the WSL only increased the scrutiny on Slegers.
Their current shot conversion rate (2.5%) is the lowest in the Women's Super League since Yeovil Town were a professional outfit in 2017-18, making this one of the worst starts they have had.
The draw with Paris FC, especially from a winning position, has put the young coach — who led Arsenal to victory in the Champions League in 2024-25 after taking over fulltime from predecessor Jonas Eidevall in the same season – under huge pressure.
Arsenal are seven points off WSL holders Manchester City who they face on Sunday. A loss would be catastrophic for Arsenal's title hopes.
Source: ESPN Soccer
