A second straight semifinal is in sight for Arsenal.
Kai Havertz scored in stoppage time on Tuesday to seal a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon at Estadio Jose Alvalade to put Mikel Arteta’s team in control of the quarterfinal tie.
The substitute fired past goalkeeper Rui Silva from close range to give Arsenal the advantage ahead of next week鈥檚 second leg at the Emirates.
In Tuesday鈥檚 other quarterfinal, at the Bernabeu.
Havertz settled a tight game in Portugal by combining with fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli in the first minute of added time. With one touch the German controlled Martinelli’s defense-splitting pass in the box and then converted with a side-footed finish.
鈥淭o score a late goal is always nice,鈥� Havertz told Amazon Prime. 鈥淲e will take that result. There is still a lot of work to do next week.鈥�
Victory saw Arsenal bounce back from which cut its quadruple trophy hunt in half in recent weeks. Losses in the League Cup final and FA Cup quarterfinals had shaken the Premier League leader going into Tuesday鈥檚 match.
And it had to withstand an early charge from Sporting in front of a raucous crowd, with player-of-the-match David Raya producing an outstanding save to tip Maximiliano Araujo鈥檚 sixth-minute shot onto the bar.
鈥淚t could have changed the tie,鈥� Arteta said.
Arsenal also hit the bar in the first half direct from Noni Madueke鈥檚 corner, but both teams struggled to create openings.
Martin Zubimendi thought he鈥檇 found the breakthrough in the second half with a curling effort from range only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Late on, Raya produced a string of saves. First he pushed away a goal-bound header from Geny Catamo and then pulled off a double stop to deny Catamo again and Luis Suarez.
鈥淔or me, the last two seasons, he鈥檚 the best keeper in the world. He has saved us so many times,鈥� Havertz said.
But it was Havertz who delivered the goal that pushed Arsenal a step closer to another semifinal, having lost to eventual champion Paris Saint-Germain at that stage last year.
The forward scored the winner for Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2021 and this was another decisive moment for him in this competition.
鈥淗e loves the big occasion and the big games,鈥� Arteta said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what we need 鈥� the big players to turn up when we need them.鈥�
Defeat was Sporting’s first at home since August. The Portuguese team has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
“A small lapse in concentration cost us dearly, and it鈥檚 frustrating because it happened in the 90th minute, but we have to lift our heads and move on,鈥� coach Rui Borges told Sport TV.
The scenes of celebration for Arsenal’s players were in stark contrast to the dejection that followed the League Cup final loss to Manchester City and the shock of being beaten by second-division Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday.
鈥淲e had to reveal ourselves today and I talked about identity and other things that we are as a team and that I definitely saw,鈥� Arteta said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 halftime. We are a step closer, now we need to finish the tie at home in front of our people, and if we do that, we鈥檙e going to start to dream.鈥�
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