Bayern Munich were forced to settle for a draw against Arsenal, despite Harry Kane scoring his trademark goal (John Walton/PA).
Bayern Munich were forced to settle for a draw against Arsenal, despite Harry Kane scoring his trademark goal (John Walton/PA).
Arsenal scored twice in the second half to salvage a 2-2 draw from an exciting first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich, denying Harry Kane a magical homecoming to north London.
At a boisterous Emirates Stadium, the German club looked poised for victory as Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer converted a penalty in the first half, bringing his career goal total against the Gunners to fifteen in twenty matches.
After Serge Gnabry, a former Arsenal attacker, leveled the score in the 76th minute after Bukayo Saka had scored early, replacement Leandro Trossard put the match in an ideal position for next week’s return meeting.
In a nail-biting climax, Manuel Neuer’s challenge on Kingsley Coman in the 90th minute almost gifted Bayern a late equalizer, and Saka’s penalty attempt was saved in stoppage time.
In addition to scoring his 39th goal of an outstanding season, England captain Kane acted out the part of the comic villain by nearly sending Gabriel flying with an elbow to the neck.
After falling 16 points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern was on the verge of losing the Bundesliga title for the first time in twelve seasons when they landed in England.
The match, which was already juicy, was further complicated by the presence of Gnabry, Kane, and Eric Dier, all of whom had previously played for Tottenham. However, the sold-out stadium was devoid of traveling spectators because of a UEFA fine imposed on Bayern fans for hurling pyrotechnics onto the pitch during their last-16 victory over Lazio.
The passionate throng erupted in a thunderous roar as Thomas Tuchel’s troops arrived, and the ground shook with the passage of only twelve minutes, all because of Saka’s sorcery.
The England international set the stage for joy in the fans with a magnificent first-time curling strike into the bottom left corner after Ben White released him inside Bayern’s area due to defensive hesitancy.
Just before the Gunners gave their opponents an equalizer in the 18th minute, White should have replicated similar moments when he missed a fantastic opportunity to shoot past the fit-again Bayern goalkeeper Neuer following a pass from Kai Havertz.
After a clumsy handoff from Gabriel to David Raya, the ball was eventually passed to Sergey Gnabry, who finished off a through-ball from Leon Goretzka by slipping it between the legs of the goalkeeper from the Gunners.
With four straight clean sheets under their belts, Arsenal advanced to this round of the competition for the first time since 2010.
Half an hour into the game, as Kane reveled in hushed cheers from the stands, their normally dependable defense once again let them down.
After Raya made an early move, Kane calmly curled the ball into the bottom right corner from 12 yards out, further tormenting Spurs’ toughest opponents, Leroy Sane, whose intricate run from halfway was only stopped by William Saliba’s dangling leg.
Despite the early goal’s joy, Arsenal nearly went into halftime down 2-0 when Sane was through on goal and only White’s and Martin Odegaard’s last-ditch efforts saved him.
Arsenal came out fighting after a break, but they still couldn’t find the back of the net.
Despite escaping with a yellow card for catching Gabriel, Kane continued to pose a danger on the break for Bayern, and a long-range shot from him sailed wide.
The leaders of Mikel Arteta’s Premier League team tied as the clock ran down on what was sure to be a difficult evening.
After creating space inside Bayern’s penalty area, Gabriel Jesus set up fellow substitute Trossard for a thunderous finish that went under Neuer’s crossbar and into the bottom left corner.
In a wild and unpredictable match, Bayern replacement Coman poked the crossbar as another twist seemed imminent. Referee Glenn Nyberg, of Sweden, was booed for not punishing Neuer for what appeared to be a trip on Saka.
