Manchester City came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw away to Bayern Munich in the Women’s Champions League, Carlotta Wamser rescuing a point with a late equaliser on her return to Germany.
It was a demanding opening assignment for the English champions against opponents with a formidable record in the league phase of the competition. José Barcala’s Bayern came into the match unbeaten in their last 15 group-stage fixtures and had reached the semi-finals last season — a run that, in Giulia Gwinn’s words, had left them “even hungrier and eager for more”. The German side had also begun the defence of their Frauen-Bundesliga title in emphatic style, winning all five of their opening games to sit two points clear at the top of the table.
Andrée Jeglertz’s City, meanwhile, had travelled with confidence of their own after a strong start domestically, including a 4-2 win over Liverpool on the Friday night in which they had found a way to win without being at their best. Europe presented a different set of questions: how a side returning to the competition after a year away would measure up against seasoned participants, and whether a relatively small squad could cope with the combined load of domestic and continental football in the absence of the injured Vivianne Miedema and Rebecca Knaak.
The answers were uncomfortable in a first half controlled by a refreshed Bayern. Barcala had made five changes to his starting XI, having rested Klara Bühl and Gwinn entirely for the weekend fixture against Köln, and the hosts looked full of energy from the outset. Bühl, a Ballon d’Or nominee, repeatedly stretched City’s defence with her pace and invention, firing a volley wide before teeing up Pernille Harder for a half chance. The deadlock was broken after just 11 minutes when Linda Dallmann drove through central midfield and released Gwinn down the right, the full-back finishing coolly past Ayaka Yamashita. The goal lifted a crowd of 4,291 at Sportpark Unterhaching, Bayern’s new home for their first outing there and an atmosphere further fuelled by Oktoberfest celebrations.
The pressure told again as the half wore on. City struggled to find space in possession and channelled too much of their play centrally rather than looking to use Lauren Hemp and Aoba Fujino in wide areas, and their evening worsened when an unwitting Kerstin Casparij diverted a dangerous Harder cross into her own net to double Bayern’s lead.
City, though, proved resilient and were handed a lifeline shortly before the interval in controversial circumstances. With a blue smoke flare burning on the pitch, the referee allowed play to continue and Casparij burst forward down the right; the ball eventually fell to a free Beth Mead, who tapped home.
The visitors carried that momentum into a far more even second half. City should have levelled when Fujino was brought down in the box by Ena Mahmutovic, only for the goalkeeper to save Khadija Shaw’s resulting penalty. Jeglertz responded with changes, introducing Mary Fowler in place of a struggling Shaw and bringing Laura Blindkilde Brown into central midfield. Although Bayern continued to look threatening going forward, City sensed the tide turning and found their equaliser with four minutes remaining, Wamser — signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer — arriving on the edge of the box to rifle home a finish on her return to Germany.
Bayern substitute Edna Imade had two clear chances to win it late on, but City held firm to take a valuable point home. With one of their most difficult fixtures now behind them, Jeglertz’s side host Real Madrid next week with the opportunity to make another statement on the European stage.