Arsenal were denied all three points in the Women’s Champions League as Paris FC came from two goals down to draw 2-2, with Maeline Mendy converting a late penalty awarded after a disastrous mix-up between the goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez and the centre-back Leah Williamson.
The visitors had looked in command after building a two-goal lead. Alessia Russo opened the scoring when Georgia Stanway prodded the ball towards her and the England forward took several touches to create the space to shoot before firing a low effort in. Five minutes after the restart Arsenal doubled their advantage, Stanway pushing Emily Fox’s cross forward a little with her chest before lashing a volley in from close range.
Paris FC, the side that knocked Arsenal out of Champions League qualifying on penalties in 2023, pulled one back 22 minutes later. The goal came from a mix-up between the centre-back pairing of Lotte Wubben-Moy and Williamson, who both moved to close down Evelyne Viens; the Canadian forward slipped the ball wide to Clara Mateo, who raced free, rounded Rodríguez and slotted into the empty net.
The equaliser, though, came not from Paris FC’s bright play but from the most calamitous of mistakes. Rodríguez collected the ball for a goal-kick, rolled it on to the pitch and then passed it to Williamson, who bent and stopped the ball with her hand, apparently assuming she was being given it to take the goal-kick. The referee deemed play to have restarted, blew her whistle and pointed to the spot. VAR did not intervene and Mendy drove the penalty powerfully into the bottom corner.
It was a bruising end to another bruising game for Arsenal, whose difficult start to the season has already left them up against it in the title race with only five points from their opening four league games. Chelsea beat them 1-0 on Sunday, leaving the north London side seven points behind the leaders, Manchester City, whom they face in a must-win game this coming Sunday.
Arsenal made two changes from the side beaten by Chelsea. Rodríguez started in goal ahead of Anneke Borbe, while Wubben-Moy replaced Steph Catley, who the manager Slegers said has had some back pain. At the Stade Jean-Bouin, which sits in the shadow of Paris Saint-Germain’s Parc des Princes, the story was familiar: Arsenal prodded and probed but clearcut chances evaded them, there was a hesitancy to their play, and in the first half-hour it was the home team that had the most promising opportunities.