Arsenal down Juventus at the death thanks to late Hurtig winner | OneFootball

Arsenal made it two Champions League wins from two over Juventus at the Emirates on Thursday night as Lina Hurtig continued her late-game scoring form, securing a deserved victory with a 90th minute winner.

The Gunners were frustrated throughout the match by the visitors’ brick-wall defense, which thwarted chance after begging chance for much of the evening’s proceedings.

Arsenal’s frustration was evident, and interim manager Renee Slegers threw in the kitchen sink as she chased the win, adding four forwards with her substitutions. After Hurtig missed two chances having been introduced late on, though, the match looked set to finish goalless.

However, it would be third time lucky for the Swede, who would tap home her easiest chance of the cameo as Stina Blackstenius played her a low cross to be slotted in from close range.

Despite sewing up a 0-4 win in the reverse fixture, Arsenal named a strong lineup to host Juventus, the eleven matching that which started Saturday’s North London Derby. Most interesting of all, Slegers again relegated Beth Mead to the bench, favouring a front three of Alessia Russo, Caitlin Foord, and Mariona Caldentey.

Arsenal were not given as easy an evening in N5 as they were in Turin nine days prior. A remarkably stubborn Juventus side approached the match with an intense physicality which might have been more at home at the Den than the Emirates. A stalwart midfield combination of Arianna Caruso and Eva Schatzer allowed the hosts little room to breathe, pressing high with crunching tackles to force Arsenal into wide spaces which they struggled to exploit.

Massimiliano Canzi, then, had clearly learned his lessons.

Mistakes would be Juventus’ undoing, as seen shortly before the half-hour mark as a miscue between Estelle Cascarino and Viola Calligaris saw Russo pounce on a loose pass in the box, forcing a good save from ‘keeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. The incident prompted almost cartoonish remonstration from Canzi, who clearly understood his side’s chance for a statement upset win.

The momentum remained difficult to read as the first half approached its end. Arsenal continued to pour forward in numbers, putting heavy pressure on the Italians, but were thwarted every time, often struggling even to get a shot off.

But it would be untrue to say that Juventus were pinned back, despite the Gunners having the better of the play. On the ball they were markedly progressive, creating chances but finishing only as well as their hosts, which is to say, they could not.

The score would remain deadlocked at halftime, with the second half continuing many of the themes of the first as chances went either way in first exchanges.

Arsenal would come within inches of the lead after 55 minutes as Foord was found in acres of space in the box. She played an enticing cross into a wide-open penalty area, but it would not meet a red foot. It was a let off for Juventus, who until that point had been near faultless in defence, and Canzi would prepare substitutes as signs of fatigue began to show.

The Gunners would go close again moments later as Katie McCabe played a backheel through ball beyond the Bianconieri defenders, finding Frida Maanum in the box who would shoot just wide, fooling many of the fans in the stands into believing they had taken the lead.

Continuing to pile on the pressure, Arsenal could not find a way through for love nor money, going close again with 20 minutes remaining as Leah Williamson headed over from a corner. Juventus dug in, with Canzi looking increasingly resigned in his technical area.

Faced with their first chance for about 20 minutes, it would be Juventus’ turn to be frustrated as the captain Caruso latched onto a low driven cross in the box, shooting first time and seeing van Domselaar tip her effort just wide of the post. The two resulting corners would both prove fruitless, and the scoreline remained a stubborn 0-0.

Hurtig, who scored late against Brighton two weeks prior, would sub on with just over 10 minutes remaining and come close to replicating her last-ditch heroics, heading into the side netting from close range shortly after her introduction, again goading an edgy crop of home support into a premature celebration.

A shot at redemption would come minutes later for Hurtig, who again found herself unmarked. She latched onto a Foord cross but headed over from inside the six-yard box, evidently caught off guard by the pace of the ball.

Just as it looked like all was lost, Hurtig would finally bury her chance, prompting jubilant celebrations from the home support, who were likely happy simply to have an excuse to stand up and move around as the temperature in Islington held firm at a bitter zero degrees.

The win sees Arsenal secure second place in UWCL group C, confirming their progression beyond a reasonable doube pending future results, though Juventus would need to offer two wins and make up an eleven goal difference to unseat the Gunners, who return to European action after the international break as they visit Valerenga in mid-December.