A brilliant Bayern Munich came back from 2-0 down to claim three points against **Arsenal**in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
A peerless first half saw the Gunners go two up without much blowback. Emily Fox headed in from close range after five minutes and Mariona Caldentey lashed in from outside the area under 20 minutes later.
However, a much better - and more direct - showing from the Bavarians in the second half saw them pull one back through 18-year-old Alara Sehitler.
As the clock ticked, the home side ramped up the pressure and physicality. Pernille Harder came off the bench to haunt Arsenal again, adding to her hat-trick in last year's group stage win with an equaliser here.
Four minutes from time, the comeback was sealed through captain Glodis Perla Viggosdottir. The Iceland international turned in Klara Buhl's cross to keep Arsenal's record away at Bayern a winless one.
Reigning champions Arsenal are now 10th in the revamped league phase, with three points after three games. Bayern are up to seventh with six points.
Story of the match
Both sides were unchanged from their last league outings. Bayern won 4-0 in their first meeting with Union Berlin, while Arsenal were unlucky not to earn a late win over Chelsea.
Playing host at the Allianz Arena for the second time in 2025, Bayern were under the cosh from the off.
Patient build-up brought the ball out to Katie McCabe, whose cross was initially cleared by Stine Ballisager but fell right back to Emily Fox on the edge of the area.
Fox relayed it to Beth Mead, with the forward's shot stinging the palms of Maria Luisa Grohs, who allowed it to bounce back into the six-yard box, where the United States international rushed on to and calmly nodded it over the goalkeeper.
Renee Slegers sought to use Bayern's desire for possession against them, constantly hounding the defence as they tried to play out from the back. On 11 minutes, the Gunners boxed Bayern into their defensive left side and waited for an opportunity to pounce.
It would have been two after Arsenal nicked it back had Viggosdottir not slid in the way of Alessia Russo's attempt.
Bayern mustered their first attempt in the 20th minute asKlara Buhl led a surge from the left. The winger shifted it to Lea Schuller, but the curler was no bother for Daphne van Domselaar.
Arsenal were soon back in control. Russo pulled out wide to latch onto Mead's through ball and swept it back into Stina Blacksteanius, who poked it onto the goal frame.
The German champions again ran into trouble when playing out. More tight pressing from Arsenal allowed Mead to cut out the pass forward, finding Blackstenius, who offloaded it to Mariona Caldentey.
The Swede was hopeful of a one-two, but Caldentey took it on herself. First, fainting to carve out a bit of space, then striking it through Grohs' grasp.
Blackstenius did have the chance to make it three moments after and probably should have finished McCabe's deep cross instead of slicing it wide of the mark.
Bayern tried to rally counterattacks but often lost the battle in midfield. The speed at which the visitors retreated did not help either. Georgia Stanway and Jovana Damnjanovic had to drop into their own half to source some touches of the ball.
As the first half came to a close, there did seem to be an admittance that going long would be the port of call.
Minutes into the second period, this was made even clearer as Grohs launched a ball forward. The resulting move was flagged offside, but the intent was immediately different.
It was a much-improved Bayern after the interval off the ball, too. Hungry to get the ball back higher up and asking questions of the away side's defence. Whatever Jose Barcala said at half-time, it was working.
Arsenal regained their attacking prowess soon enough, although they had to play and think quicker to get shots away. A lapse in rhythm soon brought Bayern back into the contest.
A sloppy giveaway from the visitors allowed Momoko Tanikawa to slot in Buhl on the break. The German had acres to square it to the substitute Alara Sehitler. The teenager scored her first goal of the season with a clever finish past the onrushing van Domselaar.
By now, Arsenal had all but lost the energy and creativity up top of the first half. Another turnover saw Bayern counter once more.
Buhl twisted and turned before playing another ball across the Arsenal backline. Substitute Pernille Harder was left open in the middle, took a touch and her time to lace it into back of the net.
Just over five minutes later, it go from bad to worse for the North London outfit. A long ball forward was kept in well by Buhl, who cut it back for Sehitler. The forward forced a save from van Domselaar as the pressure continued to mount.
The resulting corner was cleared by**Steph Catley,** but it made its way back to Buhl. An inch-perfect ball into the six-yard area was tapped in by Viggosdottir to complete an extraordinary comeback.
Three assists on the night saw Buhl pull the strings from the left-hand side in her side's fight back.
Her pace on the counter and vision to pick out her teammates were vital in all three goals, with Arsenal right-back Fox seemingly fearful of putting in a tackle in case she was left for dead.