Manchester City produced a gutsy performance to fight back and earn a valuable 2-2 draw away at Bayern Munich on their return to the Champions League. José Barcala’s side took the lead through Giulia Gwinn and an unfortunate Kerstin Casparij own goal but Beth Mead and Carlotta Wamser earned the visitors a hard-earned point. City’s head coach, Andrée Jeglertz, was pleased with the resolve of his side after a difficult first half.
It shows something about this group again. In the first half, Bayern were very good. I think we were a bit slow on the ball … It was almost like we were surprised by the tempo.
I know we weren’t but it looked like that. At the end of the first half, we got a little bit back. The trust and the belief at half-time was good so I felt that this is still possible.” It was always going to be a challenging start for the English champions against a Bayern team who have historically thrived in the league phase of this competition.
They came into this unbeaten in their last 15 home group-stage matches and on the back of a semi-final run last season that, according to Gwinn, had left them “even hungrier and eager for more”. Not only that but the German team have kicked off the defence of their Frauen-Bundesliga title in stunning fashion with five wins from five. City also arrived in Germany full of confidence after an equally impressive start to the season.
Their 4-2 win over Liverpool on Friday had been a further sign of their mettle, finding a way to win despite not being at their best. European football, however, presents a different test altogether and they came into this game with plenty of unknowns. How would they measure up after a year out of the competition?
Could their injury-hit squad juggle the load of European football and domestic challenges? Reality hit in a first half during which a refreshed Bayern took control of proceedings. Barcala had been able to make five changes to his starting XI, having completely rested Klara Bühl and Gwinn against Köln on Saturday, and they looked full of energy.
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