🔗 Share this article The Gunners Surrender Two-Goal Lead in Champions League Loss to German Giants The London side required a strong performance and positive outcome against a continental giant, but Renée Slegers’s side surrendered their 2-0 advantage and all three points to Bayern Munich far too easily, casting their Champions League defence 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 kickstarted their phenomenal run to the final. It represented a turning point in their season, showing a mental toughness that propelled them to a second Champions League title. Their collapse here showed they are yet to recapture the spirit that led to victory in May. Travelling Supporters in Munich More than 400 Arsenal fans had traveled to Munich, many filing into the Hofbräuhaus before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were placed in a section of the upper level at the Allianz Arena, but still made their voices heard, competing with the impressive home crowd of over 15,000 that brought the noise in the lower tier. Learning from Previous Performance The Arsenal goalkeeper had stated 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 league leaders, with questionable refereeing decisions bearing the brunt of those disappointments. The goal, though, was to take the energy of that strong performance after halftime to Germany with them. Arsenal had begun poorly against Chelsea. In Munich they executed their strategy and there was no repetition of that slow start. Strong Start for Visitors They opened on the front foot. Beth Mead was particularly energetic and created difficulties for the Bayern full-back their left-back and the central player Momoko Tanikawa on the right as Arsenal's high and aggressive pressing reaped its rewards. It was the forward's attempt 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 nod the ball back over the keeper and in. Doubling the Lead Arsenal's second goal arrived midway through the half. Bayern's insistence on building from defense had been dangerous and was capitalized on. Mead intercepted the defender's wayward ball and passed to the Swedish striker, who directed it towards Mariona Caldentey on the edge of the box. The talented playmaker took a touch to create space from the defender before lashing past the goalkeeper. Second Half Turnaround The intensity 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 three goals in October 2024 took the game from 2-2 to 5-2, came on and Arianna Caruso and Turkish talent arrived soon after. The last of these would make Arsenal sweat first, flying away on the break and collecting from German winger before directing the ball past the Arsenal keeper. Total Comeback It was Bayern in the driving seat after the deficit was reduced, the home team sensing they could get a result from the game. Harder delivered, floating a cross in from the edge of the area to level. They did not just want to draw, though: they wanted it all, and shortly after they had the advantage, Icelandic defender scoring at the front 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.