Reigning European champions Barcelona couldn’t turn dominance into victory against Arsenal on Thursday night, as the Gunners held them to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou to keep their Women’s Champions League campaign on track.
Barcelona, four-time winners of this competition, were made to sweat by their visitors from north London, as a first-half goal from Frida Maanum had Arsenal ahead for almost half of the game. Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen eventually found the equaliser just before the hour mark, but that was the only clinical finish Pere Romeu’s side could muster.
The result leaves both sides’ unbeaten league-phase runs intact. Arsenal, however, will certainly be the happier of the two sides.
It seemed as if it was going to be one of those rare nights for Barcelona when their dominance didn’t translate into goals. Arsenal were resilient, Barcelona were wasteful and the Gunners enjoyed their share of luck. Misa Rodríguez made several key saves in the Arsenal goal and, despite the often messy defending from those in front of her, Arsenal somehow limited the damage.
Maanum’s 22nd-minute goal was one of three big chances for Arsenal, two of which came from Barcelona losing the ball in their own half. In the end, it took a moment of quality from one of women’s football’s greatest technicians to get Barcelona back into the game. Graham Hansen’s curled finish was finally too much for Rodríguez to deal with.
Analysis - Arsenal almost pull off another miracle against Barcelona
There is never a good time to play Barcelona, but for Arsenal, this was seriously bad timing. This was the first match of a huge week that sees the Gunners face the Champions League holders, WSL rivals London City Lionesses and then European giants Lyon next Thursday.
Renée Slegers could easily have opted to rotate for this clash, given the pressure to get a result on Sunday against London City and keep pace with them in the hunt for Champions League places. She instead opted to play her near-strongest XI, with Frida Maanum the only surprise addition to the starting line-up.
Maanum rewarded the confidence shown in her, turning in the rebound from Caitlin Foord’s close-range effort.
Unlike the miracle Arsenal pulled off in Lisbon, where Barcelona were spineless in attack, this was a match they created more than enough chances to win by a considerable margin. Barcelona finished with 24 shots to Arsenal’s eight, but Romeu’s side endured several scares as Arsenal repeatedly found them wide open in transition.
Whether Arsenal will be able to channel anything from this result remains to be seen. It does little to change the reality of either side’s Champions League league phase: they will both make it through to the knockout stages, while Barcelona remain in a strong position to finish in the top four.
Arsenal leave Catalonia knowing that their true task this week is to beat London City on Sunday and give themselves a realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
Unless, of course, they were to win this competition again. They couldn’t, could they?
In the strangest of Arsenal seasons, during which things have gone from bad to worse to mediocre, every turn from here feels impossible to predict.