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Blues were looking to overturn their first-leg deficit

Somewhere in a plush Stamford Bridge box,Bóng ?á ??y hy v?ng a BlueCo executive may be regretting the decision to extend Sonia Bompastor’s contract last month.

Chelsea’s sisyphean quest for a Champions League triumph was extended once again on Wednesday night as they failed to overturn Arsenal’s two-goal advantage from the first-leg despite Sjoeke Nusken’s injury-time consolation.

Bompastor was brought to the club almost exclusively because of her record in this competition, which she has won twice with Lyon, and the Frenchwoman’s frustration at this latest shortfall was worn on her sleeve.

She laid into the fourth official with truly remarkable vitriol after Katie McCabe pulled Alyssa Thompson's hair and got off scot-free, her complaints ringing around the quieted stadium as the Blues gave up the ghost in full-time, and deservedly saw red.

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Her defeated shuffle to the back of the technical area painted the picture of a dynasty in disarray, facing the realistic threat of demise. Chelsea have dominated the English game for so long, but Arsenal, inspired by last year’s triumph in Porto, have caught them up. So too have Manchester City.

Lingering in the back of Bompastor’s mind as she makes her way home this evening will be Chelsea’s stead in the Women’s Super League, and the looming possibility of not even qualifying for this competition next season. What then?

Article image:Questions to be asked of Sonia Bompastor as Chelsea's Champions League hoodoo continues against Arsenal

Dejected: Hannah Hampton and Lauren James

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This, simply, was not the Blues' night. In truth, it could not have turned out much worse for them.

That much was clear when Nusken sent a chance at an opener sailing wide with seven minutes on the clock.

It would not have been an unprecedented comeback - Chelsea pulled one off against City at this stage of last season - but if anything was made clear by this match, it was that their luck had run out. There would be no more miracles at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues were profligate throughout this match, one where they had no room for error. Lucy Bronze threaded a perfect through ball to Alyssa Thompson in the area, who again missed wide. The American later fired well over after a smart linkup with Sam Kerr put her through one-on-one.

After touching the ball only four times in the first-half, Kerr, who has struggled for form since returning from an ACL injury earlier this season, forced a pair of world-class saves from Daphne van Domselaar.

Lauren James then drew another from the Dutchwoman before Buurman rattled the post in front of an open goal. Goalline technology was called into action when Nusken once again found the woodwork before finally burying a shot in injury-time, which proved much too little, far too late.

Furious: Sonia Bompastor

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To paint the match purely as an unlucky one for Chelsea would be unfair to Arsenal, who were happy to rest on their first-leg lead and got the job done with little consternation, even being denied a goal of their own by the most narrow of offside decisions.

Ultimately, though, this is another chapter in the ever-growing story of Chelsea’s Champions League hoodoo, the one competition Emma Hayes never managed to summit.

There will be more difficult questions to answer now, as the key figures behind her remarkable managerial career continue to desert the club, with Bompastor facing an uphill battle to vindicate her sparkling new four-year deal.