Late Lina Hurtig strike sees Katie McCabe’s Arsenal into Champions League quarters with win over Juventus
1 min readA late goal from substitute Lina Hurtig gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Juventus at the Emirates Stadium, sealing their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Interim head coach Renee Slegers had seen her side enjoy a comfortable 4-0 win in last week’s reverse fixture in Turin.
Juventus, though, produced a solid defensive display, looking to hit on the counter-attack, but were finally undone when Hurtig – who had just headed over an empty net – stabbed the ball in with a minute left.
Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw away to Valerenga in the other Group C fixture means Arsenal are assured of one of the two qualifying spots to the knockout stage.
The Gunners – unchanged from Saturday’s 3-0 win over London derby rivals Tottenham in the Women’s Super League – saw plenty of the ball during a low-key opening 20 minutes as Juventus set up a low block.
Arsenal finally played their way through the lines with a quick one-two between Alessia Russo and Frida Maanum on the edge of the Juventus penalty area but the Norwegian’s angled shot flew over.
A clever backheel from McCabe put Mariona Caldentey clear on the overlap and her pass into the penalty area was put just wide by Maanum.
Ford then saw her close-range shot blocked on the line following a goalmouth scramble from a corner.