Arsenal secured a last-gasp victory in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final away at Sporting Portugal on Tuesday. In a rainy Lisbon, Kai Havertz scored the only goal just before full-time: 0-1. The return leg takes place next Wednesday at 9.00 pm at the Emirates Stadium.
Sporting came very close to missing out on this quarter-final altogether. The Portuguese side lost their first leg in the round of 16 3-0 to FK Bodø/Glimt, but staged a comeback in the return leg at home: 5-0 after extra time. Arsenal knocked Bayer Leverkusen out in the round of 16, winning 3-1 on aggregate.
Arsenal, who were without the injured Jurriën Timber, were immediately put under pressure in an entertaining opening phase. Maximiliano Araújo struck the crossbar with a thunderous shot following a superb pass from Ousmane Diomande, and moments later the same left-back saw a long-range effort go just over.
Arsenal then made their presence felt. A free-kick from Martin Ødegaard was almost headed into his own net by Diomande, after which Noni Madueke’s subsequent corner hit the crossbar in one go. Thus, both teams had already hit the woodwork once after fifteen minutes.
The opening phase was promising, but what both teams showed for the remainder of the first half was rather disappointing. Apart from a shot from Ødegaard saved by Rui Silva, there were virtually no further chances to speak of.
Overall, Sporting were the better side in the first half. After the break, however, it was Arsenal who dominated for long periods. Leandro Trossard fired wide, Rui Silva saved attempts from Ødegaard and Gabriel Martinelli, and Martín Zubimendi saw his opening goal disallowed for an earlier offside by Viktor Gyökeres.
Sporting, too, looked threatening at times, particularly towards the end. After a lay-off from the outstanding Araújo, Francisco Trincão fired wide, and in the closing stages Geny Catamo came close to scoring on three occasions. First he shot just wide, then both a header and a shot were brilliantly saved by David Raya.
It looked as though both teams were heading for a goalless draw, but just before the final whistle, Havertz decided otherwise. Martinelli played a lovely pass to his German fellow substitute, putting him one-on-one with Rui Silva, and Havertz finished: 0-1.