Arsenal 2-0 Bayern Munich Women

Post-Match Report

Report: Arsenal Women 2-0 Bayern Munich (agg. 2-1)

Frida Maanum celebrates scoring the first goal against Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich Women -

Emirates Stadium
UEFA Women's Champions League
UEFA Women's Champions League
  Arsenal Women
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Arsenal Women
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  Bayern Munich Women
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Bayern Munich Women

It was an evening to remember at Emirates Stadium as we beat Bayern Munich 2-0 to secure our place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in a decade.

A UK-record attendance of 21,307 for a Women's Champions League match watched on as Frida Maanum and Stina Blackstenius got on the scoresheet to complete our comeback from a first-leg defeat. 

What happened

Despite the 1-0 defeat in the first leg at Allianz Arena, our Gunners showed absolutely no sign of compromising in order to chase the aggregate loss. From the first whistle to the last, we played with belief, confidence and style. 

An early chance fell to Victoria Pelova in the box after some neat work from Frida Maanum and Caitlin Foord, but our Dutch winger was swamped by Bayern defenders and was unable to get a shot away. 

We were dealt a humungous blow only ten minutes in as captain Kim Little was fouled through on goal and was forced to limp off. Little handed the armband to Leah Williamson, was replaced by Lotte Wubben-Moy and from that moment on, we played for our skipper. 

With just under 20 minutes played, Frida Maanum changed the tie with an exquisite strike. After working the ball around the box, a perfect backheel from Leah Williamson set up our Norwegian midfielder to blast the ball into the top left corner. Emirates Stadium erupted. 

After levelling the tie on aggregate, our forward line soon looked thoroughly unstoppable, bearing down on Bayern's goal for another goal. Stina Blackstenius was the one to deservedly double our advantage in the 27th minute, getting on the end of Katie McCabe’s cross to head home.

Our newly-anointed skipper Williamson nearly made it three on the half-hour mark, but her header went just north of the crossbar. This chance was followed by countless others and goalmouth scrambles, but it somehow remained 2-0. 

Minutes before the half-time whistle, Lotte Wubben-Moy hit what would have been a wonder-goal with a cross-cum-shot, that beat Grohs in the Bayern net but was cruelly denied by the underside of the crossbar. 

Katie McCabe came close after the break with a superb solo dribble through the Bayern backline before her shot was put behind for a corner. 

After weathering a spell of pressure from the visitors, we broke on the counter through Pelova. She drove at the Bayern backline and laid it off to Maanum whose guided backheel pass found Foord one-on-one with the keeper. In a rare miss from our Aussie winger, she misjudged the angle and skied the chance over the bar. 

Despite a late surge from the visitors and seven minutes of added time, we held our nerve to progress to a historic Champions League semi-final against VfL Wolfsburg. 

What it means

Tonight's victory means that we progress to the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-finals for the first time in a decade. VfL Wolfsburg are our next test in the competition - a familiar opponent who knocked us out at last year's quarter-final stage. 

Tickets for our home leg are on sale now!

Team news

Arsenal Starting XI: Zinsberger (GK), Maritz, Williamson, Rafaelle, McCabe (Hurtig, 89), Walti, Little (C) (Wubben-Moy, 10), Maanum, Pelova (Wienroither, 77), Foord, Blackstenius (Beattie, 89)

Subs not used: D'Angelo, Marckese, Goldie, Reid, Kuhl, Agyemang

Bayern Munich Starting XI: Grohs (GK), Rall (Laurent, 79) Viggosdottir, Kumagai, Hansen, Zadrazil (Lohmann, 79), Stanway, Magull (C), Buhl, Kett (Damnjanovic, 64), Schuller

Subs not used: Bernkarth (GK), Runarsdottir (GK), Bragstad, Vilhjamsdottir, Landenberger, Gloning, Rudelic

News

How social reacted to our win over Bayern Munich

Manu Zinsberger and Lia Walti celebrate at full-time

A wet Wednesday night in North London provided the perfect conditions for a magnificent UEFA Women’s Champions League turnaround against Bayern Munich, securing our spot in the semi-finals.

Let’s look at some reactions from Twitter as the night unfolded.

On paper, this wasn’t an easy fixture. Fighting for our place in the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-finals for the first time in a decade whilst facing a 1-0 deficit from our away visit to Allianz Arena a week prior, our Gunners had a mountain to climb on Wednesday evening.

From the outset, we chose tenacity and composure, with Frida Manuum securing her place on the scoresheet with a beautiful strike into the top corner after just under 20 minutes of play.

With skipper Kim Little fouled and forced to retire to the sidelines early in the first-half, Leah Williamson stepped up to lead the team to victory on Little’s behalf.

A lovely backheel pass from Williamson for Manuum to convert seemed to be the icing on the cake for the birthday girl.

After levelling the tie on aggregate, it became increasingly apparent there was no stopping our Gunners as they pressed forward with Stina Blackstenius grabbing that crucial second goal via a perfectly placed header on the end of Katie McCabe’s cross.

Despite Bayern upping the ante in the later stages of the game, we remained composed and finished the job after 7 minutes of added time.

Leah Williamson and Stina Blackstenius shared a celebratory hug at full time.

Overall, a night to remember for over 20,000 Gooners at Emirates Stadium.

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