The footballers of FC Bayern Munich were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League after a deserved 0:2 (0:2) defeat at WFC Arsenal. Frida Maanum (20th minute) and the strong Stina Blackstenius (26th) scored the goals for the north London team.
For Bayern it was the first defeat after 14 unbeaten competitive games in a row. The Munich team had won the first leg against Arsenal 1-0.
At the Emirates Stadium in London, Munich were under pressure early on. Despite Arsenal captain Kim Little missing through injury after just 12 minutes, the hosts dominated much of the first half. Maanum’s dream goal from 20 yards out after Leah Williamson’s back-heel assist was the culmination of a game that Arsenal could have decided at half-time. Given the numerous WFC chances, the otherwise very strong defenders from Munich were lucky that only Blackstenius scored with a head.
In the second half, too, coach Alexander Sraus found it difficult to choose against the English top team and hardly had any chances to score. Arsenal slowed down a bit, but remained dominant. Because Caitlin Foord missed the 3-0 after just over 70 minutes in front of Bayern goalkeeper Maria Luisa Grohs, the guests could still hope. However, Sydney Lohmann and Emelyne Laurent, who came on as substitutes in the closing stages, were also unable to save their team into extra time.
In the second game of the evening, FC Barcelona easily made it into the semi-finals after beating AS Roma 5-1, while VfL Wolfsburg can catch up against Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday.
