Alessia Russo scored twice in a dominant Arsenal first half as the Gunners confirmed their Champions League place with a 3-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield.

Mariona Caldentey was also on the scoresheet for Arsenal, who made sure to give the likes of the departing Beth Mead and Katie McCabe a winning send-off in their final Women’s Super League game.

Arsenal were on the front foot from the start, and broke the deadlock 21 minutes in. Russo was bending a cross into the box, searching for Blackstenius in front of the goalkeeper, but the ball caught everyone out and flew straight into the back of the net.

The England striker was denied a second shortly after, but Caldentey did add to their tally in the 32nd minute. She worked a short corner well with McCabe, who drew the defenders to her, opening space for Caldentey to fire a brilliant effort into the top-left corner.

And just five minutes later, Arsenal got a deserved third. Mead threaded a pass into Victoria Pelova – another player departing the Emirates after this game – who squared in Russo for a coolly taken first-time finish.

Liverpool improved in the second half, with the introduction of Cornelia Kapocs, but it took them until the 74th minute to pull a goal back.

Zara Shaw, just 90 seconds after coming off the bench, profited from a scramble in the box to swivel and finish with her first touch of the game on her first appearance of the season.

Arsenal pushed to restore their three-goal cushion late on, but they had already done the job, with three points ensuring they finish second in the WSL, securing an automatic Champions League qualification spot.

Data Debrief: A fitting farewell

There was plenty of emotion as Mead and McCabe left the field for the final time in Arsenal shirts, and the Gunners finished their season in style.

Russo had a big part to play in that; she has scored more away goals (eight) and been directly involved in more such goals (13 - five assists) than any other player in the WSL this season.

She is also the first Arsenal player to ever score or assist in six consecutive appearances on the road in the WSL.

And Arsenal's strong first half was more than enough to claim all three points. They finished the game with 2.61 expected goals, accumulating 2.18 xG before the break. Liverpool, by contrast, finished with 0.43.