Manchester City rescued a point in a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich on Tuesday in the UEFA Women's Champions League thanks to Carlotta Wamser's late equalizer, doing so despite a mostly flat performance in their return to the competition after a season away. Bayern were on pace to execute their game plan excellently from start to finish, taking the game to City early and quickly earning a reward with an 11th-minute goal from right back Giulia Gwinn. Linda Dallmann received the ball in Bayern's half and then crossed the halfway line before noticing Gwinn to her right with plenty of space.
Dallmann picked out the pass with ease and Gwinn was off to the races, no City players able to catch up as she took a shot from the edge of the penalty area and scored. GWINN GOAL 🤩Giulia Gwinn Giulia Gwinn strikes first for Bayern 🙌Stream every UEFA Women’s Champions League game on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/lTFS1884D9 The hosts continued to find success on the right flank and had a second in the 28th minute, this time Pernille Harder creating the opportunity. The former Chelsea attacker made a run and then whipped a cross into the box, a handful of teammates available to her as Bayern pressed aggressively in the first half.
She did not need a Bayern player to finish things off in the end – Kerstin Casparij flicked it into the back of her own net instead to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Man City fans look away 🫣Stream every UEFA Women’s Champions League game on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/jjfrkw3dRn It was the first part of a well-executed game plan from Bayern, who almost stifled City completely despite the visitors' attack-minded tendencies. Despite leading the WSL for goals scored with 11 from 10.35 expected goals, second only to Chelsea by fine margins in the latter category, City were limited to just one shot in the opening 44 minutes of the game.
Though they had plenty of the ball, Bayern's center backs Vanessa Gilles and Glodis Perla Viggosdottir kept Khadija "Bunny" Shaw and Lauren Hemp at bay. Bayern's pressing strategy in the first half was designed to exploit City's defensive frailties, which have not been all that much of a storyline in their perfect start in the Women's Super League thus far. The Manchester club have successfully outdone their opponents in attack in domestic play by a wide margin but have yet to keep a clean sheet this season, conceding four goals in three WSL games and ranking midtable for expected goals against 3.33.
The approach rattled the visitors – while Bayern looked composed, City lacked a cohesive idea and were easy to play through in midfield, where Yui Hasegawa was paired alongside U.S. international Sam Coffey in her first start of the season. Even in duller form, though, City's offense was hard to beat for 90 minutes. The visitors bagged a goal just before the break through new signing Beth Mead, the play beginning with Casparij's run down the right flank and cross into the box.
The ball bounced between a few players on both teams before it fell to Mead, who went on to score from close range. They ended the half essentially level on expected goals with Bayern with 1.12 despite being outshot three to eight. No better time for Beth Mead's FIRST Manchester City goal ☝️Stream every UEFA Women’s Champions League game on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/b8HXw9zBhs Bayern went with a more conservative approach in the second half with mixed results.
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