New Delhi, Oct. 17 -- Beth Mead and Alessia Russo each scored as Arsenal broke through a tenacious Benfica defense to win 2-0 and bounce back after an opening loss dented its Women's Champions League title defense.

Arsenal struggled to get past the Portuguese defense until Mead slid in to get the crucial touch ahead of Diana Gomes and score in the 57th minute.

Until that breakthrough, Arsenal had struggled to crack the Benfica back line and had nearly conceded when Gomes met a free kick with a header that forced an acrobatic save from Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar.

Russo made sure of the win in the 89th, knocking in a low free kick from Chloe Kelly.

"It was tough," Mead told ESPN. "Benfica are a very physical team, they like...