Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
by Layth Yousif
at Ashburton Grove

ADVANTAGE Arsenal after an enthralling Champions League clash in windy, rain-lashed Islington in front of an encouragingly creditable attendance of 18,087 on a filthy evening in north London.

Renee Slegers’ Gunners emerged 3-1 winners in a compelling quarter-final first-leg derby in the capital on Tuesday night.

First-half strikes from Stina Blackstenius and Chloe Kelly saw the home side take a two-goal lead into the break, after Chelsea struck the post twice in the first eight minutes.

Lauren James pulled a goal back after the interval with an excellent long-range effort, before Alessia Russo crowned a hard-fought victory for the reigning champions to take a two-goal cushion to Stamford Bridge for the second leg next week.

Gunners boss Slegers said after the victory: “It was a very tight game, two good teams going against each other.”

The head coach added: “Chelsea created some opportunities early in the game. We stayed in the game, we were calm. It was constantly finding solutions to create spaces, to find ways out, to solve the press … we wanted to start well this first leg [here] with the help of our fans. So I’m really happy with that.”

Emily Fox, Katie McCabe and Beth Mead all came into the side following Saturday’s 5-0 WSL win over West Ham, replacing Smilla Holmberg, Taylor Hinds and Olivia Smith.

Following a pre-match light show, Chelsea illuminated the early stages when Sonia Bompastor’s side hit the post through Alyssa Thompson after six minutes. A mere 120 seconds later, James also struck the woodwork as Arsenal’s luck held amid an early onslaught from the west Londoners.

Chelsea dominated the opening stages, with Lotte Wubben-Moy blocking an effort from the lively Thompson three minutes later, with Slegers’ side reeling.

Yet, the Gunners — missing the influential Leah Williamson, as well as their trio of Australian internationals Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross after their Asia Cup exertions Down Under — withstood the intense pressure to attempt to gain a foothold in the match by forcing Chelsea back into their own half.

Blackstenius drew a save from Hannah Hampton in the visitor’s goal just before the half-hour mark. Buoyed, Arsenal continued to attack the Blues, and when Katie McCabe flighted the ball into the danger area, Blackstenius was there to slot home on 22 minutes, as the home support celebrated wildly.

Worse was to come for Bompastor’s side when Kelly unleashed a powerful drive that evaded Hampton to fly into the net to make it 2-0 on 32 minutes.

There was controversy when VAR gave the Blues four minutes before half time, when Veerle Buurman’s effort was disallowed for a push on Laia Codina — prior to heading past Anneke Borbe, following the keeper’s flap at Sandy Baltimore’s cross into the box.

Romanian referee Alina Pesu blew for a foul, but the video assistant referee checked her decision — yet failed to find a clear and obvious reason to overturn the original ruling, in what was a third stroke of luck for Arsenal in an absorbing opening 45 minutes.

Chelsea boss Bompastor fumed afterwards: “It’s really frustrating. It’s always more difficult to complain about the referees when you have lost the game, but it’s not good enough.”

“We need to really find solutions. When you are playing a quarter-final of the Champions League, you need to respect the women’s game.”

Bompastor added: “You need to respect the players. They work hard every week to put a good performance on the pitch. For sure, the first goal is a goal.

“I don’t see, with the VAR, how you can disallow that goal. That’s a shame to be honest. It is what it is and it’s nothing we can control.”

As the freezing north London rain lashed down after the break, it was Chelsea who caught Arsenal cold when James’s superb long-range effort flew past the despairing Borbe and into the top corner to reduce the deficit at 2-1 on 66 minutes.

With the visitors in the ascendancy, it appeared only a matter of time before an equaliser would arrive.

However, Arsenal underlined their quality, to show just why they are the reigning Champions League holders, when Russo latched onto Blackstenius’s through ball, powering through to fire past Hampton low into the far corner to make it 3-1 with 14 minutes remaining.

The victory means in-form Arsenal are now on a 10-game winning streak in all competitions, while keeping clean sheets in their last five WSL matches.

Yet level-headed Slegers refused to get carried away, insisting: “It’s half-time.”

A big week for the Gunners lies ahead, with Spurs in the north London derby, already nearing a 60,000 sellout, before crossing the capital to the west, for what could well be a momentous second leg at Stamford Bridge.