Mariona Caldentey's late penalty saw Arsenal take top spot in Group C from Bayern Munich, who they beat 3-2 on a dramatic night in the Women's Champions League at Meadow Park.
With both teams already through to the knockout phase, Renee Slegers' team knew that only a win would be enough to secure automatic qualification to the quarter-finals.
The home team made an ideal start: barely seven minutes had passed when Glodis Vigosdottir turned Caitlin Foord's corner into its own goal.
Magdalena Eriksson equalized for the visitors six minutes before half-time, completing the turnaround in the 58th minute.
However, Arsenal responded within two minutes when Alessia Russo hit a volley into Katie McCabe's corner, and they were awarded a penalty in the 85th minute when Tuva Hansen was judged to have handled Caldentey's shot.
The Spaniard, who missed from twelve meters against Liverpool last weekend, made no mistake this time and sent Ena Mahmutovic the wrong way to secure top spot in Group C.
In the other match, Juventus salvaged some pride with an impressive 3-0 win over Valerenga.
Valentina Bergamaschi gave them a six-minute lead and Juve never looked back. Sofia Cantore and Emma Kullberg then added all three points in the second half as their visitors finished the group without a win.
THREE BIG POINTS TO FINISH 2024pic.twitter.com/fSKZ7LNHQ1
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) December 18, 2024
However, Manchester City surrendered top spot in Group D after a 3-0 defeat to Barcelona.
Barcelona needed to win to take over City and, after dominating much of the first half, broke the deadlock through Claudia Pina just before half-time.
Aitana Bonmati – recently crowned FIFA Best Women's Player of the Year – doubled the lead in the 57th minute, while substitute Alexia Putellas' 20-yard strike sealed the victory 12 minutes later.
Hammarby finished in third place in that group with a narrow 2–1 win over St. Polten, who left the tournament without having picked up points after six consecutive defeats after failing to make a late comeback despite scoring Kamila Dubcova.
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