Arsenal teetering on edge
Arsenal’s season is hanging in the balance. Europe remains the Gunners’ only hope of winning something having been dumped out of the FA Cup by Liverpool at the beginning of the month, while they will almost certainly not catch Chelsea in the WSL.
It’s win (by three clear goals) or bust against Real Madrid, first-time winners of the Clasico on Sunday, after falling to a 2-0 first-leg defeat in rainy Spain last week.
The shoddy state of the pitch perhaps overshadowed the disappointment of the performance. The game was played on a surface dubbed a “disgrace” by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, despite Renee Slegers saying the team had “planned for the conditions”.
Arsenal failed to find any rhythm and conceded a goal in each half to leave themselves with a tricky, albeit not impossible, route to their eighth European semi-final.
Renee Slegers slammed the poor pitch in Arsenal’s first-leg defeat to Real Madrid last week
“We all believe we can do different things in the second leg,” Slegers has insisted.
It’s true Arsenal have proved to be a different proposition on home ground. Their bounce back from losing 5-2 at Bayern Munich on matchday one to top Group C ahead of the German side showed grit.
But the pressure of an entire season amounting to a one-off 90 minutes where you start with a two-goal deficit might feel akin to trudging through the mud of the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano eight days ago.
Of course the Emirates pitch will be slick when Arsenal play host. They badly need a performance to match.
Man City’s ultimate revenge mission
If we’re analysing the long game, it’s 2-1 Chelsea. The culmination of this fascinating four-stage fixture bonanza between the Blues and Manchester City will determine who progresses in Europe on Thursday, with Chelsea already conquering their rivals in the League Cup final and WSL by the same 2-1 scoreline.
Sandwiched between was a stunning 2-0 scalp in which Vivianne Miedema gave City the upper hand in the Champions League. What a rollercoaster ride.
Presumably now the message changes. Nick Cushing will be reiterating to his squad that prior meetings, three in the past 12 days, matter not.
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Highlights from the Women’s Super League match between Manchester City and Chelsea
City’s WSL hopes had long been over (although they now face an uphill battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League, unless they win it, of course) and while League Cup silverware would have been sweet, the chance to displace Chelsea in Europe – the trophy they crave most – might well be considered sweeter.
It was Cushing who led City to their previous Champions League semi-finals in 2016/17 and 2017/18 and the prospect of securing a third while besting Chelsea will surely be a major motivator.
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Sky Sports’ Anton Toloui reviews Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Manchester City in the WSL
Never write Chelsea off
Chelsea, who have progressed in all five of their previous European quarter-finals, must overturn a deficit to keep that impressive record in tact.
This is not a side who are familiar with losing or particularly used to staging comebacks. Does that make them more or less dangerous?
Sonia Bompastor favours control and authority and yet the scoreline will necessitate more of a handbrake-off approach. “I know we have the quality to reverse the situation but we will need to be at our best,” she said last week.
Her 28-game unbeaten start as Blues coach might have been ended by Miedema’s double in the reverse leg but it’s far from the Frenchwoman’s determined mentality to shy away from a challenge. It’ll be interesting to see whether Chelsea set up to chase or stay patient in their pursuit.
Bompastor’s Lyon side roared back from a first-leg loss to overcome Juventus on their way to Champions League glory in 2021/22 – it can be done.
The final stage of this four-part epic is perfectly poised.
