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The London side required a impressive display and positive result against a continental giant, but the team relinquished their 2-0 advantage and the victory to Bayern Munich with little resistance, casting their European campaign into tricky waters.

Contrasting Outcomes from Previous Campaign

In the previous campaign, a battling comeback from a goal behind to a narrow win over Bayern in their last group stage match made up for their opening 5-2 loss to the German opponents and ignited their remarkable journey to the championship match. It represented a pivotal moment in their season, demonstrating a mental toughness that carried them to a second Champions League title. Their breakdown here demonstrated they are still searching for the fighting spirit that ensured success in May.

Fan Support in Germany

More than 400 Arsenal fans had made the trip to Munich, many filing into the Hofbräuhaus before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were placed in a corner of the middle tier at the Allianz Arena, but still created an atmosphere, competing with the impressive home crowd of over 15,000 that made their presence felt in the lower tier.

Learning from Recent Form

The Arsenal goalkeeper had stated her team had "showed everything we had" in their hard-fought tie with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "devastated" by the outcome against the WSL champions, with controversial officiating receiving much criticism of those frustrations.

The goal, though, was to take the energy of that impressive second-half display to Germany with them. Arsenal had begun poorly against Chelsea. In Munich they executed their strategy and there was no repeat of that sluggish beginning.

Strong Start for Arsenal

They started aggressively. The England forward was particularly energetic and caused problems for the Bayern defender their left-back and the central player Momoko Tanikawa on the right as Arsenal's high and aggressive pressing proved effective.

It was Mead's effort that gave Arsenal the advantage in the fifth minute, the England forward's shot unusually parried by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. Fox was there to nod the ball back over the keeper and in.

Doubling the Advantage

Arsenal's second goal arrived midway through the half. Bayern's determination to play out from the back had been risky and was capitalized on. The winger intercepted the defender's wayward ball and laid off to Stina Blackstenius, who directed it towards Mariona Caldentey on the penalty area. The talented playmaker took a control to create space from Tanikawa before driving past the goalkeeper.

After Break Turnaround

The energy dropped a little in the final period. The Bayern coach turned to his bench 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 Turkish talent followed shortly. The final substitute would cause problems first, sprinting forward and receiving from Klara Bühl before directing the ball past Van Domselaar.

Complete Turnaround

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the deficit was reduced, the home team believing they could get a result from the game. Harder delivered, clipping a looping ball in from the edge of the area to level. They did not just want to take something, though: they wanted everything, and six minutes later they had the lead, Glodis Viggosdottir scoring at the near post from Bühl's cross. This time it was a sluggish end that let down Arsenal and, with one win from three Champions League games, they have a big job ahead.