Bayern drew 2:2 in the first quarter-final match of the Champions League at Arsenal. The Bavarians traveled to the Emirates Stadium, where their own fans were coming down because of the penalty for the game against Lazio, unsettled by the miserable development of the German Bundesliga and their woes were compounded by Bukaya Saka’s early goal. However, then the otherwise very solid defense of the Londoners started to make mistakes, when Harry Kane, the legendary striker of the Gunners’ biggest rival, Tottenham, completed the turnover of the effective guests after half an hour of the game. But the final score was determined by Leandro Trossard’s equalizer in the 76th minute.
Arsenal had a chance to get revenge on Bayern in their first quarter-final since 2010. The latter was a fatal opponent of the Londoners in the Arsén Wenger era, when he knocked them out three times in the round of 16 over the course of five seasons. The road to revenge was almost perfectly crafted, as the home team played brilliantly and ruled the Premier League, while the Bavarians’ plight was last demonstrated by the weekend’s loss in Heidenheim.
The opening minutes were clearly under the direction of the Gunners, who caused considerable problems for Bayern’s defense. The first warning came in the form of a yellow card for visiting Alphonso Davies, who will therefore not play in the return leg. The passive approach of the Munich defense was punished in the 12th minute by Saka, who took over the ball on the edge of the goal and hit the elusive lower left corner of Manuel Neuer’s goal. Six minutes later, however, it was already equalized when Serge Gnabry took advantage of confusion in the Gunners’ defense after a quick counterattack. Another pivotal moment came after half an hour of play, when Kane made no mistake from a penalty kick after a foul on the recovered Leroy Sané.
After the break, the spectators at the Emirates Stadium witnessed a precise combination game by Arsenal, which, however, did not lead to anything for a long time against the formed block of the Bavarian team. Bayern, on the other hand, continued to threaten from quick counter-attacks and almost jumped to a two-goal gap. However, in the 76th minute, Trossard hit him with a ground shot after combining with substitute Gabriel Jesus. In the end, Die Roten could still take the victory for themselves, but Kingsley Coman only hit the left post.
The form from domestic competitions has thus been forgotten, a draw means a slightly better starting position for the rematch for Bayern. The meeting on German soil is scheduled for April 17.
