Arsenal into Women’s Champions League semi-finals

LONDON – Reigning champions Arsenal booked their spot in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea, despite a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in Wednesday’s quarter-final ​second leg.
Knowing they had to chase the game, Chelsea, who had manager Sonia Bompastor ‌sent off late on, started at a furious pace. Yet Arsenal soon knocked them out of their rhythm, and the home side didn’t manage a single shot on target in the first half as the visitors took their time over ​every dead ball.
Chelsea went back on the attack and defender Veerle Buurman struck the post with a late shot, and midfielder Sjoeke Nuesken was denied by a brilliant save from Arsenal keeper Daphne van Domselaar, ​who tipped her header onto the inside of the far post before the ball bounced away to ​safety.
Arsenal’s Beth Mead then smacked a stoppage-time shot off the far post before Nuesken finally netted, stealing in ahead ‌of defender ⁠Lotte Wubben-Moy to sweep home a first-time shot in the 94th minute and set up a nerve-jangling finale.
With the game reaching its climax, Arsenal’s Katie McCabe wasn’t penalised for pulling Alyssa Thompson’s hair during a counter-attack, prompting an angry outburst that saw Bompastor sent from the dugout after picking up two yellow ​cards for her protests.
In ​the evening’s early game, ⁠German side Bayern Munich scored twice late on to eke out a 2-1 win on the night and a 5-3 aggregate victory over Manchester United to ​qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since 2021.
United made it 3-3 ​on aggregate ⁠when Melvine Malard scored in the 11th minute and the game looked to be heading for extra time until Glodis Viggosdottir headed Bayern back in front in the 81st minute, and Linda Dallmann sealed the win by ⁠firing ​home three minutes later.
Arsenal will face either Olympique Lyonnais or VfL ​Wolfsburg in the semi-finals, with Bayern Munich set to take on Barcelona or Real Madrid, with Barca leading 6-2 on aggregate ​and Wolfsburg holding a slim 1-0 advantage heading into Thursday’s second leg.