Brilliant Bayern stun European Champions Arsenal in 3-2 comeback

As the full-time whistle blew on Wednesday evening of game week three in the Women’s Champions League, there was nothing but disappointment on the faces of the Arsenal players. After a comfortably dominant first-half performance saw them go 0-2 up, they crumbled to a much improved Bayern Munich side in the second half, who stole the three points from right under their noses, winning 3-2 in a dramatic late comeback.

The Gunners were punished for their lack of clinicality

Slegers’ side got off to a blistering start against reigning Frauen-Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, showing their class as holders of the competition. They got the scoring underway in the 5^th minute, as goalkeeper Mala Grohs parried Beth Mead’s strike into the path of Emily Fox, who couldn’t miss on the rebound with her header. The Gunners then added to their tally when another high turnover saw Bayern concede possession in a dangerous area, allowing Mariona Caldentey to subsequently unleash a fantastic long-range effort from the edge of the box that beat Grohs in the 23^rd minute. The scoreline could’ve easily been larger, with Stina Blackstenius missing multiple chances to increase the advantage for the away side, even hitting the crossbar.

Arsenal looked in cruise control as they went into the second half 0-2 up, but Bayern came out a different side, contrasting with the slow, sloppy start they had. They kicked off the comeback as substitute Alara, who had only been on the pitch for 5 minutes, finished off a quick counterattack by slotting home in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the 67^th minute. Arsenal had a chance to bury the game and make it 3-1 after Alessia Russo put in a fine cross at the far post, but it evaded Frida Maanum. The Gunners were then punished for their lack of clinicality just seconds later, as Bayern went straight down the other end of the pitch with Pernille Harder firing past Van Domselaar, who was rooted to the spot, into the top corner. Things went from bad to worse for Arsenal just six minutes later when Klara Bühl finished her hat-trick of assists, crossing into captain Glodis Viggósdóttir, who tapped the ball in at the near post, stealing the win in the 86^th minute. The game finished 3-2 to the home side, and the main question to those watching was how on earth Arsenal had let a victory slip, after playing Bayern off the park in the first 45 minutes.

Arsenal looked unrecognisable by the end of the night

Bayern celebrated the massive three points, moving them up to 8th on the League Phase Table, in front of a crowd of 15,407 at the Allianz Arena. The 400-odd Arsenal fans who made the trek to Munich, however, will have left feeling deflated after their side massively capitulated following their bright start, leaving them 11^th on the table, with the prospect of finishing in the top four and avoiding a playoff fixture rapidly fading. Slegers commented that her side’s showing was ‘not good enough’, after their massive drop in performance over the 90 minutes.

The saying ‘it was a game of two halves’ may be cliché to use, but this was the sentiment that was widely shared as Arsenal looked unrecognisable by the end of the night, and their valiant first half display was made to be long forgotten. A fixture that was so important to get their European Campaign back on track saw them once again drop a valuable three points. It was a night to forget for the Gunners, but one that Bayern Munich will remember fondly for a while.