Manchester United’s Alessia Russo scored in England’s record breaking 8-0 thrashing of Norway in their second game of the Euros.
The victory in Brighton means that England are now through to the quarter finals no matter what happens in their final group game against Northern Ireland.
The Lionesses have become the first side in European Championship history (both men’s & women’s) to score more than six goals in a single game, according to the BBC.
There were five United players involved in yesterday’s match as Ella Toone and Alessia Russo came on as substitutes, Mary Earps started in goal for England and Vilde Boe Risa and Maria Thorisdottir started for Norway.
It was the latter’s mistake that led to England’s first goal. A controversial penalty was awarded to the Lionesses as Thorisdottir clumsily brought Ellen White down in the box.
Georgia Stanway stepped up and scored the 12th minute spot kick.
Goals ensued from Lauren Hemp, Ellen White and Beth Mead who went on to score a hat-trick but with the hosts 6-0 up at the halfway mark, Sarina Wiegman mixed things up in the second half by bringing on United duo Russo and Tooney.
Less than ten minutes after she came on, Russo found the back of the net as she headed it goalwards from a Lucy Bronze cross!
🙌🏻Un gol histórico 🙌🏻
El tanto de Alessia Russo para poner el 7-0 en el partido #MUWomen pic.twitter.com/UZ3z8SHto3— Man Utd Women (@manunitedwfc) July 11, 2022
Talking to the BBC after the match she said, “Tonight was really special. Maybe we fell short a little bit before this tournament when it comes to being ruthless.
“Scoring the goal was unbelievable. It’s what dreams are made of. In front of all the home fans, it was spectacular tonight.”
Meanwhile, Mary Earps had a quieter night than anticipated but kept a clean sheet for the hosts.
Manager Sarina Wiegman said, “We kept playing the way we did in the second half when we were already up 6-0. I’m just really happy with the performance of the whole team.
“We were 2-0 up pretty quickly then we got momentum and we could just play the possession game. We had so much space to create chances and score goals. You could really tell the players enjoyed it on the pitch.”
Wiegman’s side will likely face Spain or Germany in the next round and the Lionesses next game is on Friday when they will face Northern Ireland.
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