Arsenal passed, ingloriously. Chelsea found the fault, too late. Bompastor saw red, not McCabe… What a funny quarter-final return from the European Cup on April 1st.
She might think it was an April Fool’s joke. Sonia Bompastor watched dumbfounded in the final moments of the Champions League quarter-final second leg as McCabe made a mistake. The Irishwoman pulled Thompson’s hair and destroyed the action. The French coach requested VAR, she finally collected two yellows in a handful of seconds and was excluded.
The conclusion of an evening of football like no other, while for a very long time, this British confrontation was one of the least boring 0-0s. Thompson came close to opening the scoring at the start of the match. Kerr forced Van Domselaar to make a masterful save in the 53rd minute. Then everything really came to a head at the end of the game.
Three posts in the last minutes
Blackstenius first thought to open the scoring with a header in the 80th minute, from a cross from Holmberg. Goal canceled by VAR. Six minutes later, James forced Van Domselaar to make another impressive save, but the ball returned to Buurman, who found… the post. Not even two minutes later, another header from Nusken, another big save from Van Domselaar, the ball bounced… on the same post! Then it was Mead who this time found the post in the other direction, while Arsenal reacted (90+2).
What had to happen happened: Nusken finally scored, much too late, on a cross from Kerr (1-0, 90+4). And behind, on the last occasion, McCabe was pulling Thompson’s hair. Although she apologized several times to the American, the Arsenal player should undoubtedly have been excluded… The ink is only just beginning to flow. Arsenal qualified, but by nothing in the end (3-2 on aggregate).
Jerome Flury
Photo ©UWCL
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