Arsenal 1-0 Barcelona: Blackstenius bags the winner as Arsenal claim first Women’s Champions League title since 2007 | OneFootball

Arsenal have won their second UEFA Women’s Champions League victory, after claiming a 1-0 victory against defending champions Barcelona at Lisbon’s Estádio José Alvalade on Saturday.

The Gunners, who last reached the final in 2007 when they defeated Umeå over two legs, looked to have taken the lead in the first half when Irene Paredes turned a Frida Maanum cross into her own goal – though VAR saved Barça on that occasion, with Maanum having strayed offside.

But despite the Blaugrana emerging as the stronger side after the break, substitute Stina Blackstenius was on hand to deal the damage and her composed finish in the 74th minute was ultimately enough to seal victory in Lisbon against a side that was tipped by many to achieve a ‘threepeat’.

As it happened

A cagey start at the Estádio José Alvalade saw a flurry of half-chances for both sides inside the opening ten minutes, with Arsenal coming close to the opener when Caitlin Foord turned Kim Little’s cross just wide of the post.

The Gunners were holding their own but could have fallen behind early on, though a slight deflection inside the box saw Aitana Bonmatí’s 12th-minute chance guided into the grateful hands of Daphne van Domselaar.

Renée Slegers’ side grew in confidence as the match progressed, and just minutes after Chloe Kelly volleyed over the bar from a Caitlin Foord delivery, Arsenal looked to have snatched the lead in the cruellest of circumstances. Frida Maanum’s cross whipped in from the right was turned home by Irene Paredes – though the defender’s blushes were spared by VAR, who found that Maanum had strayed offside.

Still, The Gunners kept flooding forwards. Cata Coll was called upon to turn a fierce strike from Maanum over the bar after the Norwegian opened fire on the edge of the box, with Little smashing her effort into the stands when the ball fell to her from the resulting corner.

But as half-time approached, Barça’s desperation grew – and the chances began to flow once again for the Blaugrana. Arsenal’s defence was impenetrable, though: Bonmatí danced towards goal shortly after the half-hour mark but was ultimately denied by Daphne van Domselaar, while Leah Williamson’s perfectly-timed challenge on Ewa Pajor moments later prevented a certain goal.

Pere Romeu’s side appeared the stronger side when they emerged from the interval and forced a plethora of audacious chances inside the opening five minutes – including a speculative effort from Pina as she sought to pick out the bottom corner and an outrageous attempt at a back-heel through a crowded penalty box by Bonmatí.

Ona Batlle had her chances too, firing wide of the post and then well over the woodwork either side of a Bonmatí effort that called van Domselaar into action once again. Barça had found their flow – and now all they needed was to find a finish – but their momentum was dampened almost immediately after Arsenal opted to introduce Stina Blackstenius.

The Swedish forward did well to evade a Mapi León challenge as she charged towards goal, though her tunnel vision proved costly as Coll was able to make the save when she should perhaps have laid it off for a teammate.

Right now though, Blackstenius won’t care too much about that – and nor will her teammates. A mere two minutes later, the 29-year-old wrote her name in Arsenal’s history books with a close-range finish that put Arsenal on course for their second UEFA Women’s Champions League title. Following a corner, Caldentey picked out Beth Mead on the edge of the box who delivered a perfect flick through the Barça defence for her teammate to power into the back of the net.

Her strike proved enough – and now, after almost two decades, Arsenal have been crowned as UEFA Women’s Champions League winners again. The party will continue long into the night in Lisbon, with more than 5,000 fans having made the trip in the hopes they’d see their dreams realised.

The lineups

ARS: van Domselaar; Fox, Williamson, Catley, McCabe; Little, Maanum, Caldentey; Kelly, Russo, Foord

BAR: Coll; Batlle, Paredes, León, Rolfö; Bonmatí, Guijarro, Putellas; Graham Hansen, Pajor, Pina