Arsenal hold off spirited Chelsea to move into final four of women's Champions League

[p]Knowing they had to chase [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/arsenal-8CKOoQdn/chelsea-Q7Hu2UDD/?mid=OYKkVkCT"]the ‌game[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/Q7Hu2UDD/"]Chelsea[/a] - who had manager Sonia [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bompastor-sonia/lWBaZks1/"]Bompastor[/a] sent off late on - started at a furious pace. ‌[/p][p]Yet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/8CKOoQdn/"]Arsenal[/a] 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.[/p][p]Arsenal grew into ‌the game in the second half, but all the drama happened late on as Chelsea threw everything forward in an effort to get back in the tie.[/p][p]Arsenal substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/blackstenius-stina/tvFnIayL/"]‌Stina Blackstenius[/a] headed home from a cross from her ⁠Swedish compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/holmberg-smilla/AFoiUAnH/"]Smilla Holmberg[/a] in the ‌80th minute, but the goal was chalked off after a VAR review found ​that the striker had been just offside in the build-up.[/p][p]Chelsea went back on the attack and defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/buurman-veerle/hGW8jAlj/"]Veerle Buurman[/a] struck the post ​with a late shot before midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nusken-sjoeke/xODAAUJh/"]Sjoeke Nuesken[/a] was denied by a brilliant save from Arsenal keeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-domselaar-daphne/lYXRVBmn/"]Daphne van Domselaar[/a], who tipped her header ⁠onto the inside of ​the far post before the ball bounced away to safety.[/p][p][b]Arsenal's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mead-bethany/ImKjIZz9/"]Beth Mead[/a] 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.[/b][/p][p]With the game reaching its climax, Arsenal's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mccabe-katie/MJ7Ld038/"]Katie McCabe[/a] wasn't penalised for pulling [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thompson-alyssa/QPnYNXdi/"]Alyssa Thompson[/a]'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.[/p][embed guid="6c4b3017-46fe-4dc5-8352-1deb23dd9a37" url="https://x.com/ArsenalWFC/status/2039446811648077906" social-type="twitter" /][p]In the evening's early game, German side [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bayern-munich/vkjy3nF9/"]Bayern Munich[/a] scored twice late on to eke out a 2-1 win on the night and a 5-3 aggregate victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/4EeCFcxJ/"]Manchester United[/a] to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time ‌since 2021.[/p][p]Arsenal will face either [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lyon/ro3DSjf2/"]Lyon[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/wolfsburg/Yaedf2i2/"]Wolfsburg[/a] in the semi-finals, with Bayern Munich set to take on Barcelona or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/4xlfVfnP/"]⁠Real Madrid[/a], with Barca leading ⁠6-2 on aggregate and Wolfsburg ‌holding a slim 1-0 advantage heading into Thursday's second legs.[/p]