Lisa Baum Marks Arsenal Women Debut With Stunning Winner In FA WSL Victory Over Brighton
Arsenal Women’s record signing Lisa Baum announced herself to English football in the most convincing fashion possible on her competitive debut.
The 19-year-old scored the decisive goal after just nine minutes as Arsenal secured a 1-0 FA WSL win away to Brighton.
Baum joined the club for a German-record fee of €600,000, and supporters did not have to wait long to see exactly what that investment could offer.
She collected the ball in midfield, drove forward, beat defenders, and fired high into the near corner with impressive directness and confidence.
It was a goal created entirely through her own initiative, and it proved to be the difference between the two sides on the day.
Baum finished the match with 42 touches in total, including 10 inside the Brighton penalty area, more than any other player in the opposition box.
She took two shots and placed both on target, delivering a 100 per cent shot accuracy rate across her 63 minutes on the pitch.
Her contribution extended well beyond the goal itself, as she completed 19 of 25 passes for a 76 per cent success rate while also sending two passes into the final third.
Defensively, Baum made two tackles and four recoveries, was not dribbled past once, and won four of her 10 ground duels throughout the match.
On another occasion, she worked the ball across the face of goal after again causing problems for Brighton’s defence, but no team-mate was there to finish.
For a teenager making her first competitive appearance in English football, there was very little hesitation visible in her game throughout the afternoon.
Baum looked willing to carry the ball, take responsibility, and attack defenders, giving Arsenal a different kind of threat from the left flank.
Her time on the pitch ended shortly after the hour mark, but by then she had already done enough to decide the contest in Arsenal’s favour.
A winning goal, two shots on target from two attempts, and 10 touches in the opposition box made for a remarkably productive debut performance.
Arsenal will not judge Baum on a single afternoon, but as introductions to English football go, this one was seriously impressive.
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