**Chelsea**clinched a late 1-0 victory over **Arsenal**at Stamford Bridge, but the reigning champions have still knocked them out of the Champions League thanks to a 3-1 advantage from the first leg.
Sjoeke Nusken nailed her finish in injury time, but the Blues will rue their lack of efficiency in the final third across two legs against an outfit who have shown maturity in the massive moments.
Story of the Match
Sonia Bompastor brought two defenders out of the lineup she selected for the first leg: **Naomi Girma**and Sandy Baltimore dropped to the bench. **Lucy Bronze**switched to the left side of the backline, while **Australian**duo Ellie Carpenter and **Sam Kerr**came into the starting eleven.
Meanwhile, Renee Slegers swapped four players after the victory at the Emirates Stadium. **Daphne van Domselaar**replaced **Anneke Borbe**between the posts. Steph Catley came in for Laia Codina, while Olivia Smith and Caitlin Foord filled in for Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead as the two wingers.
The Blues began with more enterprise out of the two English outfits, and the first big chance of the clash went their way in the eighth minute. Captain **Erin Cuthbert**clipped a switched ball to Carpenter, whose positive first touch sent her hurtling down the right flank. Her second attempt at a pullback fell perfectly for Sjoeke Nusken, but the midfielder miscued her effort and **Arsenal**were let off the hook.
The forward-thinking fullback was a consistent outlet. Moments later, she ran onto a Nusken through ball, and Lotte Wubben-Moy pulled off a last-ditch tackle to deny the Australian inside her box.
Alyssa Thompson then took the game to the Gunners, scuffing a shot wide of the mark from twenty yards. She was also involved in one of the slickest sequences of possession during the first half, combining with Kerr to go through the thirds before blazing a strike far over the crossbar.
The guests had a few openings of their own. Katie McCabe watched an effort from range get smothered after Kadeisha Buchanan gave away a free kick for a foul on Smith. Foord also had a couple of chances from more settled phases of possession when she successfully isolated Carpenter.
Half-time arrived with 60% of the possession in the hands of the hosts. But, it was **Arsenal**who had registered more shots and more successful strikes on target. **Chelsea**were crying out for more clinical actions in the final third, and they hoped that an enforced substitution could shift the game their way.
Before the start of the second half, Catley came off for Taylor Hinds, who slotted in as the left-back, and McCabe covered in central defence next to Wubben-Moy. The defence eventually had to deal with the first shot on target from the Blues as they broke away with a long ball towards Kerr.
The forward found space at the top of the box, cutting away from the retreating Fox to fire a strike at the target. Van Domselaar had to stretch to steer the ball over the bar, and the hosts had earned a corner. From there, James tried to replicate her magic from last week, but her effort missed the mark.
At the hour mark, **Chelsea**committed to a double substitution. Bompastor asked Niamh Charles to come on at left-back, so Bronze moved into central defence with Veerle Buurman, and Buchanan departed the field. Cuthbert passed the armband to Keira Walsh, and Baltimore moved into midfield.
In the 69th minute, Slegers sent on two reinforcements for her side. Smilla Holmberg was a straight swap for Emily Fox at right-back, and Smith made way for Mead.
Almost immediately, **Arsenal**struck decisively. **Kim Little**nicked the ball away from Nusken, and Stina Blackstenius watched an effort get blocked on the break. Russo then lurked at the back post as Holmberg advanced forward in a later stage of play, and Carpenter successfully put off the forward from finding the back of the net.
**Chelsea**continued to commit, but **Arsenal**were in the ascendancy. Russo released herself into a central gap again, missing the mark in the 73rd minute. Then her striker partner should have sealed the deal. Mead wriggled around Baltimore and Charles, crossing the ball to the edge of the six-yard box. There, Blackstenius was gift wrapped a free header, but the Swede sent her effort over the bar.
Chances continued to come the way of the Gunners. Blackstenius had marginally drifted offside in the buildup to a well-placed headed goal, and her strike was chalked off. Russo then cleverly juggled the ball away from Bronze on another counterattack and Hannah Hampton had to pat down her strike.
Slegers still sensed the need for caution, especially after Nusken’s diving header strayed just wide of the target. In the final 10 minutes of normal time, Frida Maanum and Codina came on for Blackstenius and Mariona Caldentey as **Arsenal**appeared to adopt a backline with five defenders.
The Blues began to bang on the door once more. Lauren James, always a spritely threat with the ball at her feet, danced around Holmberg and Little before calling van Domselaar into action. Buurman then chased the rebound, but she could only send the ball against the outside of the frame of the goal.
Nusken then climbed highest to attack a Bronze delivery, and van Domselaar denied the hosts for the second time in three minutes as the ball came off the post. At the other end of the pitch, Maanum kept waiting for the moment to find Mead as the ball broke for Arsenal, and the winger also hit the post.
A better cutback from Foord might have killed the clash in injury time, and her compatriot then gave the fans at **Stamford Bridge**something to shout about. Kerr carried the ball down the left wing, and she connected with Nusken, who hit the back of the net at the third attempt. **Chelsea**had now gone ahead on the evening, but they still needed a second strike to bring parity to the aggregate scoreline.
Desperation somewhat set in for the Gunners as McCabe tugged Thompson’s hair to stop the hosts from building more momentum in another attack. There was no yellow card for the defender, and Bompastor’s appeals were only met with a caution for herself.
Chelsea kept going, but there would be no grandstand finish. The final whistle meant **Arsenal**were into the final four of the competition.