Arsenal defeated Sporting 1-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg in Lisbon, with substitute Kai Havertz scoring the winning goal in the 91st minute.
Just when it looked like the volatile game was headed for a stalemate, Havertz produced a superbly composed finish from fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli’s pass, giving Arsenal what could have been a decisive advantage heading into next week’s second leg.
David Raya had helped the Gunners keep the scores level before then, with the goalkeeper brilliantly deflecting Maxi Araujo’s shot onto the crossbar early on, and Genny Katamo and Luis Suarez making important saves in the second half.
Arsenal created few chances after Martin Zvimendi’s goal against Viktor Gökeres was ruled out by VAR for offside, and Havertz’s second-half strike sealed another impressive display of defensive resilience to seal Europe’s classic away win.
The result ensured a positive reaction to back-to-back domestic cup defeats against Manchester City and Southampton, and put Arsenal on course to reach back-to-back Champions League semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history.
In addition to Raya’s outstanding performance in goal and Havertz’s calm final goal, there was a historic monument for Max Daumann.
At 16 years and 97 days old, the Arsenal substitute became the youngest English player in Champions League knockout history. He is the second youngest player overall after Bayern Munich’s Filip Pavic.
Sporting’s Maxi Araujo hits the bar early in the match
Arsenal are now back in the hunt for the Premier League title, preparing to face Bournemouth in an early kick-off on Saturday ahead of next Wednesday’s second leg against Sporting.
The winner of the quarter-finals will face Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in the last four of the Champions League.
Is Raya the best goalkeeper in the world?
Havertz’s goal sealed the victory, but it was thanks in no small part to the early heroics of Arsenal’s goalkeeper. Raya’s impressive season of performances has further strengthened his claim to be considered the best goalkeeper in the world.
That’s certainly the view of the teammate who won the game. “It’s unbelievable,” Havertz told Amazon Prime. “He’s still underrated in football, but for me he’s been the best keeper in the world for the last two seasons.”
Raya showed excellent reflexes and pushed Araujo’s fierce shot over the bar early on. Katamo’s near-post save was equally impressive, as was his courage to dive at Suarez’s feet moments later to deny Katamo a second attack.
The statistics undoubtedly support Havertz’s views on goalkeepers on the European stage. According to Opta, since the start of last season’s Champions League, they have conceded just 12 goals from shots on target and have an xG of 21.07.
In other words, he prevented just over nine goals thanks to the quality of his saves. To put this into context, the next highest points total among goalkeepers in the competition during this period is Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois with 6.12 points. Even he can’t get close.
“He’s phenomenal at the moment,” Arteta added. “He has been exceptional since joining us and we are very lucky to have him.”
Arteta: “A magical moment won the game”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta now on Amazon Prime:
“I’m very happy to win away in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against a team that hasn’t lost at home for a long time.I think it was probably in Europe last time as well, which shows how difficult it is.
“When we got into the final third and we were sitting there, we missed the last part. We needed to be a little bit quicker, faster and more efficient to break them down when they had that block.”
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Sporting
“We had a goal canceled and we came very close a couple of times, but the last pass wasn’t enough. In the end, that magic moment from the finisher won the game.
“It’s beautiful. That’s the impact you need when you get to this stage of the season. Everybody has to leave an impact and they certainly did that tonight.”
