In a dramatic final 15 minutes, Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre was sent off after Sheke Nusken gave the Blues late hopes of a comeback in their Women’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Arsenal, with the Gunners winning 3-2 on aggregate.
Nasken’s goal was perhaps deserved as Chelsea won 1-0 on the night, but they were left disappointed with a series of missed chances and were unable to overturn a 3-1 deficit in the first leg.
The trigger came around the 80th minute when Stina Braxtenius headed home thinking Arsenal had booked their place in the semi-finals, but his goal was ruled out for offside by VAR.
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Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre has blamed VAR after Arsenal’s Katie McCabe was not penalized for pulling Alyssa Thompson’s hair.
Chelsea quickly put the score up at the other end, but Nusken missed two chances in the first eight minutes.
The Germany international forced a superb save from Daphne van Domselaar during a chaotic 15 minutes, while the Gunners stopper also denied Lauren James’ rocket. After having a goal denied by VAR in last week’s first leg, Vir Bulman hit the rebound onto the post.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastre yells at referee Frieda Mir Klarlund Nielsen, earns her a yellow card and then a second yellow card.
Nusken put Chelsea ahead in the fourth of the five extra minutes at the end of the second half, but the biggest drama was yet to come.
Bompastar had an awkward exchange with the referees for much of the match after criticizing VAR for disallowing a goal by Bullman that appeared to be a foul on Raia Codina against the Emirates.
But she was incandescent when Katie McCabe wasn’t punished for pulling Alyssa Thompson’s hair. No Arsenal player received a yellow card, it was Bompastre who went on the referee’s record.
Less than a minute later, the Chelsea manager tried to quickly pick up the ball from the feet of an Arsenal player, only to be forced onto the pitch in a scuffle. She turned yellow again, then red as she watched her final moments through plexiglass along the side of the Stamford Bridge tunnel.
Arsenal players applaud their fans after defeating Chelsea to advance to the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-finals
Overall it was a frustrating night for the Blues, but they will feel they had a good chance of winning the game. Thompson, Nasken and Sam Kerr all came close, but it was too little, too late for one more year of the Champions League, the only trophy they have yet to win.
However, as Arsenal continue to defend their title, they will once again reach the semi-finals, where they will face either Lyon or Wolfsburg in the second leg on Thursday night.
“It was a clear red card for an Arsenal player.”
Bompasta was furious at the decision not to send off McCabe, saying it was an “obvious” red card.
“It’s a huge disappointment,” she said of Chelsea’s Champions League exit. “We went into this game and wanted to give it our all.
“In terms of performance, we did what we had to do. We created a lot of chances but we didn’t score. That’s the reality. That’s why we don’t qualify for the semi-finals.”
“But at the end of the game, I think some of the decisions were really controversial, so there was a lot of emotion.”
Bompastor was sent off for two yellow cards in the closing stages.
Regarding the hair-pulling, she added: “For me, this is clearly a red card for an Arsenal player. She’s pulling Alyssa Thompson’s hair. If VAR can’t see that situation, I don’t see why there’s VAR.”
“She doesn’t have a red card – it’s clearly a red card – and yes, I act on my feelings. I shouldn’t, but in the end I’m the one with the red card.”
“If you look at all the decisions in the first leg and the second leg, that’s part of the final result. It’s really disappointing.”
Asked if he had spoken to the authorities, Bonpastor replied: “No, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s always the same story.”
“When I go and talk to them, I don’t get a clear answer. It’s difficult because I’m the only one who doesn’t want to talk about this situation.
“But everyone needs to understand that it’s the difference between being eligible and not being eligible. It has a huge impact on the players.
“I’m really proud of the players. I think they gave everything and they don’t deserve to be refereed at that level again.”
Bronze: must participate in the Champions League
Chelsea’s bid to win the Champions League for the first time is ended by Arsenal
Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze told BBC Sport: “We couldn’t have done more with both feet. We were the better team but we weren’t the most clinical. That was the difference.”
“They had a clinical finish in the first game and gave us a hard time against the top teams. “Obviously we knew we could win tonight, which was obviously what we did, but we took too many chances and missed the crossbar.
“We can be proud of what we’ve done. There’s not much more we can do…We need to focus that energy towards the end of the season, because we still have a lot to play.”
As for how far Chelsea are from the Champions League title, he said: “It’s not far. The competition is tough and we were beaten a little bit in the first leg. We were level with Arsenal, the reigning champions, and we beat them tonight so we should have had a better result in the first leg.”
“It depends on each game and who plays. Last year, all the teams were favorites to win the title, but Arsenal came through that day and won the championship. That’s the Champions League. You have to play, count and score goals.”
Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze (centre) talks to teammates after seeing Arsenal’s goal ruled out for offside by VAR
Slagers are proud of Arsenal’s mentality
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Rene Sleggers was satisfied with his team’s mentality, which kept their hopes of winning the Champions League for the second time in a row alive.
“It was a very difficult scenario coming into this game with a two-goal lead,” Slegers said. “The three games before this one were very close, with close margins.
“We were preparing for this game again. I’m really proud of our players, mainly from a mentality standpoint. How they managed this game. Really proud of the mentality again.”
Regarding McCabe pulling Thompson’s hair, she added: “I looked back at the still image. I didn’t see what happened on the field when it happened, but I saw Katie go to apologize to Alyssa. I’m assuming it wasn’t intentional, but of course it’s unfortunate. I’ll have to look back at it before I comment further.”
Midget: It would be great if I could defend my title.
Arsenal captain Kim Little told BBC Sport: “We didn’t start the season the way we wanted, but we improved as the season went on and really dominated the games.
“At the end of the day, that’s not enough. You want to be league champions consistently. We need to make sure we’re consistent and in that form. We’ll talk about how we can get off to a better start.”
“It would be great if we could do it two years in a row. I’ll do my best.”
