Without Kimmich, Olise or Díaz, Kompany played Davies at left wing. He scored from Kane's pass, Kane scored a penalty, and Rice equalised eight minutes from time.
The numbers
| FC Bayern München | Arsenal | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 46% | 54% |
| Shots | 13 | 14 |
| xG | 2.46 | 1.69 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 5 |
| Big chances | 4 | 2 |
| Duels won | 36% | 64% |
Result the chances deserved: FC Bayern München 55% / 19% / Arsenal 26% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
FC Bayern München (4-2-3-1): Neuer, Laimer, Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, Stanišić, Bischof, Pavlović, Gnabry, Saibari, Davies, Kane.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya, Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Guimarães, Saka, Ødegaard, Madueke, Havertz.
Arsenal subs: Eze (10', Saka, injured), Gyökeres & Lewis-Skelly (69', Havertz & Guimarães; FotMob has Gyökeres on at 68'), Merino (85', Ødegaard). Arsenal coach: Mikel Arteta. FC Bayern list Arsenal in a 4-2-3-1; FotMob lists a 4-3-3 with Ødegaard, Guimarães and Rice in midfield.
Cards: Havertz (13'), Konsa (39', a foul on Kane). Bayern had no booking but committed 15 fouls to Arsenal's 5 (Bundesliga.com). Attendance 75,000, sold out (FC Bayern).
Key moments, move by move
- Ødegaard looks up in midfield and plays it over Bayern's back line.
- Eze, on the right, runs in behind; Stanišić is the last man and keeps him onside.
- Eze carries it into the box.
- His left-footed shot goes across Neuer into the far corner. The flag goes up, but VAR gives the goal.
- Kane drops towards halfway and receives facing play.
- Davies sets off from the left wing, behind Timber.
- Kane slides the pass between Arsenal's centre-backs into his stride.
- Davies stays calm against Raya and finishes low with his right foot.
- Laimer plays a low ball in from the right.
- Kane shoots, and the ball hits Timber's raised arm.
- The penalty stands after a VAR check.
- Kane sends Raya the wrong way, high into the left side of the net.
- Rice moves the ball on from the right and keeps running.
- The ball goes via Madueke to substitute Gyökeres in the middle.
- Gyökeres holds it up and lays it into Rice's run on the right of the box.
- Rice shoots low across Neuer into the far corner from a tight angle.
Davies at left wing, Kane dropping off
- Five changes, three starters missing. Without Kimmich (family bereavement), Olise (suspended) and Luis Díaz (muscle problem), Kompany changed five players from the 6–1 against Leipzig (Bundesliga.com): Neuer in goal, Stanišić at left-back, Bischof next to Pavlović, Gnabry on the right and Davies, normally a left-back, at left wing.
- Arsenal's first 25 minutes. Arsenal had around 68% of the ball early on (FC Bayern), and Arteta said his side were better for the first 20 to 25 minutes. Saka went off injured at 10'; his replacement Eze scored at 25' from Ødegaard's ball over the line.
- Kane drops, Davies runs. Bayern's best moves started with Kane coming short and Davies running past him on the left. Kane found Davies on the break before Gnabry's chance (Raya saved, 21'), then split the centre-backs for Davies's 1–1. By FC Bayern's numbers Bayern made 1.72 xG in open play to Arsenal's 0.50, and four big chances to two.
- Lost duels, and the late goal. Arsenal won 64% of the duels and made 11 interceptions to Bayern's two (Sofascore). After the penalty, Bayern tried to keep the ball (Kane); Rice's one-two with Gyökeres made it 2–2 at 82'. Díaz, on at 68', had to go off again before the end.
Tactical scenes
Arsenal made little in open play, but their corners kept finding a free head. Early in the second half Guimarães met Rice's corner; Neuer saved and the ball came back off the bar.
Evidence: By FC Bayern's numbers Arsenal's xG was 1.40, only 0.50 of it from open play. Arsenal had five corners to three (Bundesliga.com) and won 12 aerial duels to six (Sofascore). FC Bayern: match analysis · FC Bayern match report · Sofascore: xG and ratings
Without Kimmich, Bayern's build-up went through Pavlović and Bischof, and Rice and Guimarães kept stepping in. Arsenal had most of the ball in the first 25 minutes and won it back in front of Bayern's back four.
Evidence: Arsenal won 64% of the duels and made 11 interceptions to Bayern's two; Rice made six tackles (Sofascore). FC Bayern put Arsenal's early possession at around 68%. Sofascore: xG and ratings · FC Bayern match report
Recreate it in FM26
FC Bayern München · Kane drops, a winger with a full-back's legs runs · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Kane drops, a winger with a full-back's legs runs
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Neuer | Sweeper Keeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Laimer | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RCB | Upamecano | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Kim Min-jae | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Stanišić | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RDM | Bischof | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Pavlović | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Gnabry | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Saibari | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Davies | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Kane | Deep-Lying Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Progress ThroughLeft
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- TacklingAggressive
- Defensive LineHigher
The idea: Kane as a Deep-Lying Forward drops and drags a centre-back with him; an Inside Forward with a full-back's pace attacks the gap behind the right-back. You need a forward who passes like a midfielder and a Holding Full-Back behind the winger.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce an opponent losing its best winger after ten minutes and scoring through his replacement.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Brown on at 70' (for Stanišić), Ito on at 75' (for Saibari). Keep the press and Davies on the left, but protect 2–1 from the 70th minute: Brown's legs behind Davies and Ito's height for the corners. It would not have stopped every one-two like Rice's. It moves FC Bayern München's win chance from 55% to 59% (xG 2.46–1.69 becomes 2.46–1.49). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer FC Bayern München needed
Joshua Kimmich
Arsenal won 64% of the duels and Rice completed 69 of 77 passes (Sofascore). Kimmich is the passer who keeps the ball when Bayern lead, which Kane said they tried and failed to do, and he takes the set pieces: Bayern had three corners to Arsenal's five.
Scott McTominay
Bayern lost on the ground and in the air: 64% of duels and 12 aerials to six went to Arsenal (Sofascore), and Guimarães headed a corner onto the bar. A midfielder who wins headers in his own box and still arrives in the opponent's covers both problems.
What the analysts said
“But we had our moments and more big chances than I imagined before the game.”Vincent Kompany (FC Bayern website)
“In that spell we should've killed it off – we had the chances.”Harry Kane (FC Bayern website)
“We tried to keep the ball in the last 20 minutes but Arsenal punished us with their goal.”Harry Kane (FC Bayern website)
“The ball to Phonzie (Alphonso Davies) was just sensational.”Tom Bischof (FC Bayern website)
“Bayern play man-to-man all over the whole pitch.”Kai Havertz, Arsenal (FC Bayern website)
“We were the better team in the first 20, 25 minutes.”Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach (FC Bayern website)
Bayern made the bigger chances without three starters, but Arsenal won the midfield and the last word.
What's happening. Bayern 2–2 Arsenal. Eze scored after coming on for the injured Saka; Davies, playing on the left wing, equalised from Kane's pass, and Kane's penalty put Bayern ahead. Rice equalised eight minutes from time. Bayern have five points from three league-phase games.
How it works. With Díaz unfit, Kompany put a full-back's pace at left wing and kept Stanišić at home behind him. Kane dropped to receive, and the run went past him: one pass between the centre-backs was enough. The cost showed in midfield. Without Kimmich, Pavlović and Bischof lost most of the duels to Rice and Guimarães, and Arsenal kept getting the ball back.
What the shots say. By FotMob's numbers Bayern's chances were worth about two and a half goals and Arsenal's about one and a half. One reading: Bayern made the clearer chances and a draw undersells them. The other: Arsenal's danger came mostly from corners, where they won the headers, and that is a weakness, not bad luck.