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Arsenal required a impressive display and favorable outcome against a continental giant, but Renée Slegers’s side surrendered their two-goal lead and the victory to Bayern Munich with little resistance, plunging their European campaign into difficult waters.

Contrasting Outcomes from Previous Campaign

In the previous campaign, a inspiring fightback from a goal behind to a narrow win over Bayern in their final group game avenged their heavy defeat to the German opponents and kickstarted their phenomenal run to the championship match. It represented a pivotal moment in their season, demonstrating a resilience that propelled them to a European triumph. Their collapse here demonstrated they are yet to recapture the spirit that ensured success in May.

Fan Support in Munich

More than 400 Arsenal fans had made the trip to Munich, many filing into the city's famous beer hall before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were placed in a section 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

Daphne van Domselaar had said her team had "showed everything we had" in their hard-fought tie with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "deeply disappointed" by the outcome against the WSL champions, with controversial officiating receiving much criticism of those disappointments.

The aim, though, was to take the energy of that impressive second-half display to Germany with them. Arsenal had started slowly against Chelsea. In Munich they executed their strategy and there was no repetition of that slow start.

Fast Beginning for Arsenal

They started aggressively. Beth Mead was particularly energetic and created difficulties for the Bayern defender Franziska Kett and the midfielder Momoko Tanikawa on the right as Arsenal's intense pressure proved effective.

It was Mead's effort that gave Arsenal the advantage in the fifth minute, the striker's effort 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 Lead

Arsenal's next score arrived in the 23rd minute. Bayern's determination to play out from the back had been risky and was exploited. The winger intercepted 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 touch to create space from Tanikawa before driving past the goalkeeper.

After Break Collapse

The energy dropped a little in the second half. José Barcala made substitutions to try to get his team back into the game: the ex-London striker Danish international, whose hat-trick in October 2024 turned the match from 2-2 to 5-2, came on and Arianna Caruso and Alara Sehitler arrived soon after. The last of these would cause problems first, sprinting forward and receiving from German winger before directing the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Complete Turnaround

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the gap narrowed, the hosts sensing they could get a result from the game. The substitute delivered, 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 advantage, Glodis Viggosdottir scoring at the front post from the winger's delivery. This time it was a poor finish that disappointed Arsenal and, with one win from their European matches, they have a big job ahead.