Bayern Munich showed their grit at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night, coming from behind to beat Sporting CP 3-1 and stretching an astonishing unbeaten home run at this stage of the UEFA Champions League to 35 matches. It wasn’t always smooth, but Bayern rarely do drama the easy way anyway.
Coming into the game, their shocking 3-1 loss to Arsenal in the Champions League on Matchday 5 stood as their only defeat in all competitions this season. You could tell early on they were out to make a statement.
Harry Kane wasted no time testing the waters, firing over inside three minutes, and it just kept coming from there. The England striker hit the post after dancing past two defenders, while 17-year-old Lennart Karl, already making headlines in Europe, kept Rui Silva busy with sharp efforts from close range.
He even thought he’d scored early, only for the offside flag to spoil the party.
Softfootball reports that Sporting didn’t park the bus, to their credit, but Bayern’s press barely gave them room to breathe. Their clearest first-half chance oddly came from a near own-goal, as Manuel Neuer had to react fast to stop Jonathan Tah from turning a cross into his own net.
The second half opened in similar fashion, though Bayern’s tempo dipped for a moment. Sporting took advantage.
João Simões burst down the right, tricked Konrad Laimer with a clever stop-start, and fired in a cross that Joshua Kimmich unfortunately deflected past Neuer while trying to stop Luis Suárez, and against the run of play, Sporting were in front.
That goal seemed to wake Bayern up again. After a couple of warning shots, Serge Gnabry slipped in at the back post to tap home Michael Olise’s corner for the equaliser.
From there, the momentum flipped. Karl showed maturity beyond his years with a superb first touch and calm finish to put Bayern ahead, becoming the youngest player ever to score in three straight Champions League games.
The kid is special, no doubt, and was praised by the club for his heroics in winning the man of the match award in a post made via their official X account.
They posted:
Tah made amends late on with a close-range volley to seal it, and Alphonso Davies also made his much-expected comeback from injury after he assured fans of his physical status in an earlier report.
Bayern now sit level with Arsenal at the top of the league phase, only trailing on goal difference while Sporting stay in a decent position for the knockouts, but this first loss in 13 games will sting a little for the Portuguese giants.
