Manchester City were two goals down and being outplayed inside half an hour of their first Women's Champions League match in over a year. They left Germany with a point. Carlotta Wamser's late strike sealed a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich that City had no business getting after the opening 40 minutes.
The tie put the reigning English and German champions against each other at the first attempt, and for a long stretch it did not look like a contest. Bayern had the ball, the chances and the scoreline.
Two goals and a defensive mess
The opener came in the 11th minute. Linda Dallmann slid a pass through to Giulia Gwinn, who had been left entirely alone, and she finished past Ayaka Yamashita without much fuss.
The second was harder to watch. In the 27th minute Kerstin Casparij attempted a clearance with nobody near her, got it completely wrong and sliced the ball into her own net.
It could have been three or four. Klara Buhl fired wide, Pernille Harder wasted an early opening, Jovana Damnjanovic shot over from a good position and Momoko Tanikawa missed twice when well placed. Bayern's finishing was the only thing keeping City in it.
Mead's goal and a smoke bomb row
City got back into the match just before half-time through Beth Mead, who prodded home from close range after a Khadija Shaw shot deflected into her path. Mead won this competition with Arsenal two seasons ago and knows how these nights turn.
Bayern were furious. A blue smoke bomb had been thrown onto the pitch and was still lying there when City attacked down the right, and the home players argued the referee should have stopped play before the goal went in. He did not.
City then had the chance to level when Ena Mahmutovic tripped Aoba Fujino in the box. Shaw struck the penalty hard and low, and Mahmutovic saved it superbly to make up for the foul.
Wamser has the final word
The equaliser arrived late through Wamser, City's Germany international, who whipped a low shot beyond Mahmutovic for her first goal since joining the club. Bayern had two chances to win it after that, both falling to Spanish substitute Edna Imade, and both missed the target.
Bayern were playing their first competitive game at the Sportpark Unterhaching, which is set to become their permanent home. They reached the semi-finals last season and will feel this was two points dropped. City, who last appeared in this competition in 2024-25, will take the point and the mood that came with it.
Match facts: Bayern Munich 2-2 Manchester City, Women's Champions League league phase, Sportpark Unterhaching. Goals: Gwinn 11, Casparij own goal 27; Mead just before half-time, Wamser late in the second half. Khadija Shaw had a penalty saved by Ena Mahmutovic in the second half. Lauren Hemp was named player of the match with a rating of 7.50. The league phase features 18 teams in one division, each playing six different opponents. Bayern travel to Benfica on 30 September; Manchester City host Real Madrid on 1 October.
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