🔗 Share this article

The London side needed a impressive performance and favorable outcome against a continental giant, but the team surrendered their two-goal lead and the victory to Bayern Munich far too easily, casting their Champions League defence into difficult waters.

Different Outcomes from Last Season

Last season, a inspiring fightback from 2-1 down to a narrow win over Bayern in their last group stage match avenged their heavy defeat to the German opponents and kickstarted their phenomenal run to the final. It marked a turning point in their season, demonstrating a resilience that carried them to a European triumph. Their collapse here demonstrated they are still searching for the spirit that ensured success in May.

Travelling Supporters in Germany

Over four hundred Arsenal fans had made the trip to Munich, many gathering at the city's famous beer hall before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were shoved into a corner of the middle tier at the Allianz Arena, but still made their voices heard, battling against the vocal local supporters of over 15,000 that made their presence felt in the stands below.

Learning from Previous Performance

The Arsenal goalkeeper had said her team had "showed everything we had" in their hard-fought tie with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "deeply disappointed" by the result against the league leaders, with questionable refereeing decisions receiving much criticism of those disappointments.

The aim, though, was to take the energy of that strong performance after halftime to Germany with them. Arsenal had started slowly against Chelsea. In Munich they executed their strategy and there was no repetition of that sluggish beginning.

Strong Start for Visitors

They started aggressively. Beth Mead was especially lively and caused problems for the Bayern defender Franziska Kett and the central player Momoko Tanikawa on the right as Arsenal's intense pressure reaped its rewards.

It was the forward's attempt that ensured Arsenal took the lead in the early stages, the England forward's shot strangely pushed away by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. Fox was there to head it back over the goalkeeper and in.

Doubling the Advantage

Arsenal's next score arrived in the 23rd minute. Bayern's determination to play out from the back had been risky and was capitalized on. The winger cut out Stine Ballisager's stray pass and laid off to Stina Blackstenius, who directed it towards Mariona Caldentey on the edge of the box. The mercurial midfielder took a control to create space from the defender before driving past Grohs.

Second Half Collapse

The energy dropped a little in the second half. José Barcala turned to his bench to try to get his team back into the game: the former Chelsea forward Danish international, whose hat-trick in October 2024 took the game from 2-2 to 5-2, entered and Italian midfielder and Alara Sehitler followed shortly. The final substitute would cause problems first, sprinting forward and collecting from Klara Bühl before guiding the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Complete Turnaround

It was Bayern in the ascendancy after the gap narrowed, the home team believing they could take something from the game. The substitute produced, clipping a looping ball in from the penalty box to equalize. They did not just want to take something, though: they wanted everything, and six minutes later they had the lead, Icelandic defender turning in at the near post from the winger's delivery. This time it was a sluggish end that disappointed Arsenal and, with one win from three Champions League games, they have a big job ahead.