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Mead feeds Kelly, a good 30 yards from goal. The England forward is given half a second to tee up a shot, and hammers a right-footed effort unerringly into the far corner of the net, beyond the despairing dive of Hampton. Fantastic goal.
Goal! 32 min: Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea (Kelly)
What a hit!
31 min: Russo crosses hard and low for Blackstenius, who hits a right-footed shot first-time, but it’s straight at Hampton.
29 min: Chelsea’s James is booked for a foul in midfield on Blackstenius. It was a hardly a foul, really – Blackstenius knew she was coming, and looked to back into her opponent, and James just nipped around the side and nabbed the ball. Very harsh decision.
27 min: Thompson chases a long ball down the right wing for Chelsea. It’s a hopeful pass – but Thompson’s pace means they make something out of it. Chelsea work the ball back to their left flank and James bends a good-looking cross towards the far post but it goes out for a goal-kick.
Goal! 22min: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (Blackstenius)
McCabe bends in the free-kick and it’s a superb delivery, bending viciously towards the far post. Blackstenius nods it into the far corner of the net with little fuss, the merest of touches with a glancing header, and the celebrations begin. Brilliant goal and somewhat against the run of play.
20 min: It’s certainly not been a classically cagey first-leg vibe thus far. Both teams are going for it. Now James of Chelsea is penalised for a foul on Caldentey, about 10 yards outside the Blues’ area. A handy set-piece situation for the hosts.
18 min: Stina Blackstenius and Mead link down the middle for Arsenal, working the ball into the area. Kadeisha Buchanan, recently back from a lengthy layoff with an ACL injury, tries to shield the ball but ends up in a heap. Blackstenius’s shot is saved, and thankfully, Buchanan is able to jog off, and looks able to continue.
16 min: “The Arsenal women’s team owe absolutely nothing to the men’s team,” points out Charles Antaki on email.
“But! What a tonic it would be if they win, and especially if they play the kind of attractive football that they’re capable of. Shame that Olivia Smith isn’t in the starting XI, but there’s plenty of other talent in there. Just watching Alessia Russo at work is enough (or almost) to dispel some of yesterday’s gloom.”
13 min: Thompson’s pace is tearing Arsenal apart down the right. She has McCabe on toast after a perfectly-weighted ball by Lucy Bronze down the line. Thompson gets to the byline and cuts the ball back, but the Gunners manage to scramble the ball clear.
10 min: Thompson, again, is threatening on that right flank for Chelsea. She beats Katie McCabe, cutting in, and her shot is blocked by an Arsenal body.
8 min: Now Lauren James thumps a shot against the same post for Chelsea! She took possession around the edge of the area and ghosted past the cover to shoot, low and hard and right-footed. It looked for all money like that was the opener, cannoning back off the inside of the post.
6 min: A defensive slip allows Alyssa Thompson in down the Chelsea right. Her deflected shot from an angle looks unthreatening but it flicks off the far post with Anneke Borbe beaten! Laia Codina had slid in with a tackle and the ball flicked off her studs and nearly into the net.
4 min: Around halfway, Lauren James does superbly to take a ball to feet, turn away from two or three would-be tacklers, and spread the play from Chelsea’s left to right. The move fizzles out but it’s a reminder, if Arsenal needed one, of James’s spectacular talent.
2 min: Arsenal start on the front foot, penning Chelsea in on the left wing for a spell and eventually winning a corner. Chloe Kelly bends in a good cross when the ball is worked out right, following the set-piece taken by Beth Mead. The Blues keeper Hannah Hampton dives on it, and Chelsea pass their first defensive test.
First-half kick-off!
Go.
Here we go, then. The teams are out, the pre-match pleasantries are taking place, and kick-off is seconds away.
I should mention that Ellie Carpenter is indeed on the bench for Arsenal post-Asian Cup final.
Manchester United v Bayern Munich and Real Madrid v Barcelona are on the menu in the Women’s Champions League tomorrow night.
Wolfsburg 1-0 OL Lyonnes is a result from earlier today, Lineth Beerensteyn with a 14th-minute winner at the Volkswagen Arena.
“There will be a lot of intensity,” Bompastor, the Chelsea head coach, tells the BBC. “Hopefully we will have fresh legs and fight until the end.
“We want to hurt Arsenal. We know they are strong. They are on a good run. But we want to make sure we have a good result coming here.”
Keira Walsh of Chelsea also had a natter with the Beeb: “We know each other quite well, we’ve played each other a lot over the years … but being a Champions League game it’s a bit different, a bit more special. They’re a top team and we know what they bring. Hopefully it’s going to be an exciting game.
“We know the game plan. It’s controlling those emotions, trying to stay calm, and just doing the gameplan … there’s been a lot of talk around it but we’re feeling positive.”
Mariona Caldentey of Arsenal has a chat with the BBC: “It’s the type of game everyone wants to play. We are really lucky to play in the Emirates, in the Champions League. It’s a big game, against a big team.
“It’s two legs, but right now, we’re only thinking of the game tonight in front of our fans. We are in a good moment. We feel confident. We will go for the win, we are at home and we are Arsenal, so that’s what we have to do.”
Arsenal have lost just once in 19 matches. Chelsea may have dropped points in the league against London City Lionesses at the weekend, but nine days ago, they beat Manchester United to win the Women’s League Cup.
Kick-off is about 40 minutes away. You’ve got plenty of time to enjoy this excellent interview with Alessia Russo of Arsenal, by Suzanne Wrack:
Teams
Three changes for Arsenal: Beth Mead, Emily Fox and Katie McCabe come in after the 5-0 WSL win against West Ham on Saturday.
For Chelsea and Bompastor it’s five changes: Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, Sandy Baltimore and Naomi Girma all return.
Arsenal Women (4-3-3): Borbe; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Codina, McCabe; Mead, Little, Caldentey; Russo, Blackstenius, Kelly. Substitutes: Votikova, Van Domselaar, Maanum, Smith, Pelova, Hinds, Holmberg, Harwood.
Chelsea Women (3-5-2): Hampton; Girma, Buchanan, Buurman; Bronze, Cuthbert, Walsh, Nusken, Baltimore; James, Thompson. Substitutes: Peng, Spencer, Carpenter, Kaptein, Kaneryd, Potter, Shooter, Storey, Sarwie.
Seismic news from the men’s version of association football:
Preamble
Arsenal Women won the big prize last season, but after a fifth-placed finish in the league phase this time around, the holders were subjected to the relative indignity of needing a playoff for a place in the quarter-finals. A 7-1 aggregate success against Leuven was duly delivered and now Chelsea, their Women’s Super League rivals, stand between the Gunners and a place in the last four.
Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea head coach, felt it necessary to deny that her team are facing a full-blown injury crisis after just eight players took part in an open training session before the first leg tonight. “This is what it is when you are Chelsea,” Bompastor said. Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter were not considered for selection having returned from Australia’s Asian Cup final defeat by Japan on Saturday – Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord of Arsenal were also involved and will play no part at the Emirates Stadium this evening.
This is the first time in the history of Uefa Women’s club competitions that teams from the same city have faced each other. While Arsenal, as holders, may be considered favourites, Chelsea have never lost on any of their previous six occasions they have reached the quarter-finals. Something has to give.
Kick-off: 8pm UK GMT
