WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Stina Blackstenius earned Arsenal a 2-2 draw at Wolfsburg in the first leg of their Women’s Champion’s League semifinal on Sunday.
Blackstenius slid in to meet Victoria Pelova’s cross for the equalizer in the 69th minute as the visitors recovered from a two-goal deficit to put themselves in a good position ahead of the second leg in London on May 1. Arsenal said it had already sold 46,000 tickets for the match, a record for a British game in the Women’s Champions League.
But Wolfsburg, the reigning German champion, has never lost in seven previous visits to London. Wolfsburg won in the 2013 semifinals and drew in the 2022 quarterfinals at Arsenal, won three times and drew once at Chelsea, while it defeated Lyon 1-0 in the 2013 final at Stamford Bridge.
Some 20,000 tickets were sold for Sunday's game in Wolfsburg's stadium.
Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir put the home team in a commanding position by scoring one goal and setting up the other for the two-time champion, which had 12 attempts at goal compared to the visitors' seven.
The Icelandic forward played the ball through for Ewa Pajor to open the scoring with her competition-leading eighth goal of the season in the 19th minute, then capitalized on a mistake from Arsenal defender Rafaelle to make it 2-0 in the 24th.
Rafaelle was attempting a pass across goal to Jennifer Beattie but inadvertently provided the assist for Jónsdóttir.
The Brazilian defender atoned by scoring Arsenal’s response from Steph Catley’s corner before halftime.
Wolfsburg dropped intensity after the break and ultimately paid the price after losing the ball in midfield when Pelova crossed for Blackstenius to finish.
Wolfsburg midfielder Jill Roord went close as the home team pushed for a late winner.
Both teams were depleted by injuries. Wolfsburg was without Germany stars Alexandra Popp and Marina Hegering, while Arsenal on Friday said defender Leah Williamson needed surgery after tearing her ACL. Forward Vivianne Miedema was ruled out with a season-ending ACL injury in December. Veteran midfielder Kim Little is also out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
Barcelona defeated Chelsea 1-0 in the other semifinal first leg on Saturday. The final is scheduled for June 3 in Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
