Declan Rice scored a late equaliser to earn Arsenal a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, rescuing a point for last season’s runners-up in a thrilling encounter.
Eberechi Eze opened the scoring for Arsenal after replacing the injured Bukayo Saka, but Alphonso Davies restored parity for Bayern with a composed finish following a sublime pass from Harry Kane.
Kane put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot in the second half, only for his England teammate Rice to strike with eight minutes remaining and deny Bayern victory.
Arsenal have seven points from three matches in the league phase, two more than Bayern.
Bayern were without in-form winger Michael Olise, Germany captain Joshua Kimmich and midfielder Jamal Musiala. Coach Vincent Kompany had also been a doubt because of illness but took his place in the dugout.
“We looked dangerous, we got the goal and we had a moment there where we could have killed off the game,” Kane told DAZN.
“Probably a draw was a fair result overall. There’s a lot of games and we’ve got players with injuries, players missing tonight, so we take the point and move on.”
Despite Bayern’s absentees, Kane remained a constant threat against Arsenal’s usually miserly defence, delivering another impressive performance ahead of next week’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in London, his hometown.
His second-half penalty was his 16th goal in 23 appearances against Arsenal and extended his scoring streak to 10 consecutive Champions League matches. He is now one game short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of scoring in 11 successive Champions League appearances for Real Madrid.
“I had an amazing season last year, I’m extremely proud of it. The Ballon d’Or would be amazing to win, but there’s nothing I can do, the voting closed a long time ago, I have to wait for the night and see what happens,” Kane said.
The draw marked only the second time Arsenal had dropped points in 12 matches across all competitions this season.
“I think it was a top-notch game for both sides,” said Arsenal forward Kai Havertz. “We can be proud of our performance, especially since it’s anything but easy to hold your own here. Bayern is one of the best teams in Europe.”
Early Saka blow
Arsenal suffered an early setback when Saka went down in the eighth minute, clutching his thigh and immediately signalling to the bench.
Bayern had faced Norwegian opposition in their previous two Champions League matches, and the German giants initially struggled to cope with Arsenal’s physicality as Mikel Arteta’s side pressed aggressively and pinned them back.
Just before the half-hour mark, Martin Odegaard floated a pass across Bayern’s defence into the path of Eze, who timed his run perfectly before slotting the ball past Manuel Neuer.
The hosts were caught out by the forward’s movement, and their frustration deepened when VAR overturned the assistant referee’s offside decision to award the goal.
Much of the pre-match attention had focused on Kane’s Ballon d’Or prospects, and the England captain demonstrated his influence 10 minutes later by creating Bayern’s equaliser.
Kane spotted Davies bursting forward and threaded a superb pass through midfield and around Gabriel, allowing the Canadian winger to guide the ball into the bottom corner.
With Bayern gaining momentum, Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa was booked for bringing down Kane during a counterattack minutes later.
After the break, both goalkeepers produced outstanding saves. Neuer tipped Bruno Guimaraes’s header onto the crossbar, while David Raya denied Dayot Upamecano at the other end.
The teams continued to trade attacks, but Kane again proved decisive as Bayern moved in front.
The striker’s effort from the edge of the penalty area struck Jurrien Timber’s arm, prompting the referee to point to the spot. Kane stepped up and confidently converted the penalty.
Bayern appeared poised to secure the win, but Arsenal struck back late on. Substitute Viktor Gyokeres threaded a clever pass into Rice’s path, and the midfielder fired home to snatch a valuable point for the visitors.
AFP
