Two nights, two teams, and a momentous 48 hours for English clubs in the Women’s Champions League. Yet when Emma Hayes, drained after Chelsea’s head-spinning escape against Lyon, soaked in the buzz that lingered in the air at Stamford Bridge she recognised the importance of not just one victory, but two. “How brilliant was that, what a performance from them,” she said, but Hayes spoke of Arsenal’s display in their stunning win over Bayern Munich, not of Chelsea’s dethroning of Lyon to join the Gunners in the semi-finals.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal had taken huge steps forward in the competition, Arsenal in reaching their first semi-final since 2013, Chelsea in knocking out the eight-time winners after a night of the highest drama. Chelsea played their first knockout match in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge and delivered a comeback to stand among any in the club’s European history, on the night after Arsenal set new records and made the Emirates feel like a home. Jonas Eidevall said history was being written in front of their eyes, and there will now be bigger nights to come.
