Chelsea manager Bompastor furious as Arsenal reach the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League

Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said poor performances cost her a place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League after Arsenal progressed 3-2 on aggregate despite a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Bompastor was sent off in the final seconds of the match after a hair pull on Alyssa Thompson by Katie McCabe went unpunished.

Chelsea were also furious at the controversial decision to disallow a goal in last week’s 3-1 first leg defeat to the Emirates, which proved decisive in the draw.

“If VAR can’t control that situation again, I don’t know why we have VAR,” the former Lyon boss said of McCabe’s challenge on Thompson.

“If you look at all the decisions, both in the first leg and in the second leg, that is ultimately part of the result.

«That’s the difference between being qualified and not being qualified. My players don’t deserve that level of refereeing.»

Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze said the first leg ‘killed us’ as the side’s long wait to win the league continues despite England’s domestic dominance over the past decade.

Arsenal ended an 18-year wait for an English Women’s Champions League winner when they shocked Barcelona in last season’s final and dug deep to stay on course to defend the crown.

«It would be nice to do it two years in a row; we will give everything we can,» said Arsenal captain Kim Little.

READ: Women’s Champions League: Arsenal fend off Chelsea to reach semi-finals; Bayern is also making progress

The Gunners kept the English champions at bay until a hectic final in which both teams should have scored several times.

Stina Blackstenius appeared to have disrupted the tie when the Swede headed in ten minutes from time, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check for marginal offside.

Buoyed by that disappointment, Chelsea suddenly came to life.

Lauren James poked the palms of Daphne van Domselaar, and Veerle Buurman shot the rebound off the post with a gaping goal.

Moments later, Van Domselaar produced an incredible stop and turned Sjoeke Nusken’s header onto the post.

At the other end, Beth Mead also hit the woodwork as Arsenal threatened to take advantage of Chelsea’s desperation on the counter-attack.

When the opener finally arrived after four minutes of added time, it was too late for Chelsea A8iskX.

Nusken made a nice connection and shot from Sam Kerr’s cross at the near post.

Arsenal will face eight-time winners Lyon or Wolfsburg in the last four.

The Germans lead 1-0 for their second leg in France on Thursday.

On the other side of the tie, Bayern Munich defeated Manchester United 5-3 on aggregate and will almost certainly face Barcelona, ​​who have a 6-2 lead over Real Madrid in the first leg, in the semi-finals.

Published on April 2, 2026