It was Alyssa Thompson who scored for Chelsea after eight minutes at the Emirates Stadium in the Women’s Super League back in November. And on Tuesday night, she almost did the same again.
This time, there were just five minutes on the clock when Lucy Bronze won the ball back in the Arsenal penalty area and began a counter-attack with a sprint down the touchline.
The experienced full-back played the ball straight in front of her to Thompson. The American only had Lotte Wubben-Moy and goalkeeper Anneke Borbe between her and the goal, so she opted to cut inside and fire a shot towards the far side.
Wubben-Moy managed to get a touch on the shot, and the attempt bounced off the left-hand post. It was the finest of margins which prevented her from giving the Blues the opening goal.
And after coming away from North London with a 3-1 defeat to carry over into the second leg, Thompson was disappointed that Chelsea didn’t have more to show for our efforts.
‘It's definitely a tough result,’ she said after the final whistle. ‘I think the team played really well, and I think the result doesn't really show the game.
‘We had a couple of chances in the first half that we could have finished and put away, and I think honestly, we've grown a lot too. Every time we play them, it's just hard, to be honest. It was always going to be difficult, especially in a London derby and it being in the Champions League.’
Thompson feels that if the Blues can be more clinical when we return to Stamford Bridge for the second leg on Wednesday evening, we can overturn the deficit. Especially with the added advantage of having our home fans cheering the team on.
‘I think as a team we really want to get into the semi-finals,’ Thompson continued. ‘We're going to do everything that we can to get back into the game and finish our chances.
‘Playing at the Bridge is so amazing. Playing in front of all of our fans is really fun. So I hope we can bring a little bit more quality and just finish our chances.’