- Buoyed by the crowd at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal beat Bayern Munich 2-0 to progress to Women’s Champions League semifinals
- Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius’ goals in the first half were all Arsenal needed to make their first appearance in the semis since 2013
Arsenal beat Bayern Munich 2-0 on Wednesday to overturn a 1-0 deficit and progress to the Women’s Champions League semifinals for the first time in ten years.
Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius’ goals in the first half were all Arsenal needed to make their first appearance in the semis since 2013. Jonas Eidevall’s side won 2-1 on aggregate in front of a record crowd of 21,307 at the Emirates.
Arsenal players celebrate at the Emirates Stadium last night. Photo/ ESPN.
Speaking after Arsenal’s victory, Jonas Eidevall praised his players for the performance they showed against their German opponents.
“I’m almost lost for words because I think the performance was so strong. We go out and believe in the way that we play. I think we played brilliantly and the only thing we could have asked more was to be more efficient with our goalscoring opportunities.” Jonas Eidevall said, as per UEFA.com.
There could be two English sides in the Women’s Champions League semis this season if Chelsea remain calm to secure victory over defending champions Lyon. The Blues are already leading 1-0 from the first leg. The last time we saw two English teams reach the last four was during the 2017-18 season when Manchester City and Chelsea progressed.
Arsenal Beat Bayern Munich 2-0
Before facing Arsenal last night, Bayern Munich had won 14 games in a row, keeping seven clean sheets. They had also not conceded more than once since the 3-0 loss to Barcelona in November. However, those amazing stats were not enough to kill Arsenal’s hopes.
It was 1-0 to Bayern Munich at kick-off in London and that was enough motivation for Arsenal to put pressure on the visitors. January signing Victoria Pelova got her first European start for the Gunners after her impressive performance from the bench in the first leg.
Arsenal’s captain Kim Little limped off due to injury and many thought that could have dampened Arsenal’s evening. But instead of panicking, the hosts remained focused, pressing their opponents from midfield. Their efforts eventually yielded results as they took the lead in a spectacular fashion, thanks to Norway midfielder Frida Maanum.
After getting back level on aggregate, Arsenal had the momentum and they continued to attack in search of another goal. Well, the hosts went up 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium when Stina Blackstenius headed home Katie McCabe’s cross in a crowded box.
Arsenal beat Bayern Munich 2-0. Photo/ Outlook India.
Blackstenius and Maanum came close to scoring again but Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper Maria Grohs denied both of them with a sterling double save. 21-year-old Grohs denied Arsenal again before half-time when she parried a Blackstenius header away.
Bayern Munich came back stronger in the second half and so did Arsenal’s defence. In the end, Bayern couldn’t find the one goal they needed to level scores and have hopes of progressing to the semis. Arsenal will face either Wolfsburg or PSG for a place in the final.
It’s a good time to be an Arsenal fan considering the men’s team is closing in on winning their first Premier League title since 2004.
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