MUNICH – In a stunning turn of events, Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead to suffer a 3-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Women's Champions League at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. The loss marks the Gunners' second in three games in the competition, jeopardizing their title defense.

Arsenal started strong, with Emily Fox heading in the opening goal in the 5th minute. Mariona Caldentey, the Ballon d'Or runner-up, doubled the lead in the 23rd minute with a beautiful, curling shot from the edge of the penalty area. At this point, Arsenal seemed to be in complete control.

However, Bayern Munich emerged a different team after the break. Substitutions by coach Jose Barcala proved pivotal, as Alara Sehitler scored in the 67th minute and Pernille Harder struck in the 80th minute to level the score. Both goals were assisted by German attacker Klara Bühl. Bayern captain Glódís Viggósdóttir completed the comeback in the 86th minute, scoring from a cross.

Arsenal's coach, Renée Slegers, expressed her disappointment after the match. "It's not good enough," Slegers said. "We don't want to concede three goals in one half in the Champions League". Bayern's Pernille Harder, on the other hand, expressed her elation: "Unbelievable feeling, these three points are so important for us,” Harder said. “After the first half we were a little bit down and thinking, 'What's going on? Where are we at?'”. Bayern midfielder Georgia Stanway acknowledged the team's poor first-half performance and praised their resilience in the second half. "It feels good but it's also a bit of a relief," Stanway said. "We were very unsatisfied with the first half and I think second half was just a completely different game, and a massive show of character”.

This defeat is another setback for Arsenal, who are also facing frustrations in the Women's Super League. After a controversial match against Chelsea, where they felt refereeing decisions cost them points, Arsenal seemed determined to bounce back in Europe. However, despite a strong first half, they failed to maintain their lead against a resurgent Bayern side.

Bayern Munich, after an initial 7-1 defeat to Barcelona, have now secured back-to-back wins in the Champions League. Barcelona also continued their winning streak, with a 3-0 victory over OH Leuven.