Arsenal ended Chelsea’s perfect record in Champions League quarter-finals, their 3-1 lead from the first leg was enough to counter the 1-0 defeat in a frenetic end-to-end encounter at Stamford Bridge.
Sjoeke Nüsken’s injury-time strike gave Chelsea hope but it wasn’t enough. The manager, Sonia Bompastor, was sent off shortly before the whistle as emotions boiled over. The holders will play the winner of Thursday night’s quarter-final between Lyon and Wolfsburg, with the German side taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg.
Despite Arsenal’s two-goal cushion after their 3-1 win against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, the tie felt very much alive and the mood in the buildup to kick-off was thick with trepidation. The home team showed last season they can overturn a two-goal deficit, coming from behind against Manchester City at the same stage.
However, Arsenal were arguably the more in-form team coming into the tie and had got the better of the Blues in two of the three games played against them this season Alessia Russo’s late equaliser salvaged a draw in the WSL in November before wins over Bompastor’s side in the return fixture in January and last week in the first leg.
The Gunners had the advantage in more ways than one, a comfortable 5-2 win against Tottenham on Saturday in the north London derby gave them an extra day’s rest over the Blues, who had to come from behind to earn a battling 4-3 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
