Arsenal suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Women's Champions League after squandering a two-goal halftime lead. Goals from Emily Fox and Mariona Caldentey put the Gunners in control at the Allianz Arena, but Bayern mounted a stunning comeback with strikes from Alara Sehitler, Pernille Harder, and Glodis Perla Viggosdottir. Head coach Renee Slegers criticized her team's second-half performance following the loss.
Arsenal entered the match at Munich's Allianz Arena with high hopes but found themselves dominant in the first half. Emily Fox opened the scoring, followed by Mariona Caldentey's goal, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead at halftime. However, Bayern Munich responded fiercely after the break, adjusting their tactics to play more direct long balls and commit numbers forward.
Alara Sehitler and Pernille Harder scored within the final 10 minutes to level the score at 2-2, setting the stage for a tense finish. In the 86th minute, Bayern captain Glodis Perla Viggosdottir stabbed home the winner, completing a remarkable turnaround. This result marks Arsenal's second loss in three Champions League games this season.
Post-match, Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers expressed frustration with her side's inability to handle Bayern's second-half adjustments. "First half was really good. I think we did a lot of really good things on the ball, I think we caused issues in their low build and the high press was working really well," Slegers told Disney Plus. "Second half we said they'd probably do something different because they're 2-0 down at home and they'll come out differently. That's what they did. ... We don't deal with it well enough and it's not good enough. We don't want to concede three goals in one half in the Champions League."
Bayern's Pernille Harder, who scored the equalizer, highlighted the boost from the victory. "An unbelievable feeling. I'm super happy. These three points are so important for us and coming back down from two goals is really great," she said. "This gives us a lot of confidence. After the first half, we were thinking, 'where are we at?' but the second half gave us a lot of confidence and showed we can still compete in this competition." The defeat leaves Arsenal in a challenging position in the group standings.