FC Bayern Munich faced Viking Stavanger of Norway on the road in the Champions League today and, of course, was looking to take home the three points.
Having already won their first match in the Champions League, they were looking to build on that success today. Coach Vincent Kompany rotated his lineup, with Jonas Urbig, Tom Bischof, Konrad Laimer, and Lennart Karl, among others, making their first starts.
A thrilling match unfolded on the artificial turf in Norway, ending in a 3-3 draw.
Stavanger shocks FC Bayern
Last weekend in Augsburg, Bayern fell behind after just eight seconds; this time, it didn’t take long for the first shock to come either. One minute in, Viking took the lead off a corner kick. Gianni Stensness headed the ball into the right corner, leaving Jonas Urbig helpless. At the other end, Konrad Laimer nearly equalized immediately, and Lennart Karl also had an early shot on goal.
Bayern now increasingly took control; Luis Diaz came close with a shot at the far corner after 13 minutes. Stavanger sat deep; Bayern had plenty of possession and numerous shots on goal, though many were blocked. The Norwegians occasionally resorted to fouls to disrupt the rhythm, which they succeeded in doing.
After 34 minutes, Harry Kane had Bayern’s best chance of the match so far, but his shot was well off target. There was definitely more to be had there. Bayern paid the price for their missed opportunities when Stavanger executed a perfect counterattack in the 38th minute. Peter Christiansen found himself one-on-one with Urbig and placed the ball precisely into the right corner. The score was now 2-0! That was also the score at halftime. In the final minutes before the halftime whistle, nothing was going right for Bayern.
Bayern steps it up, Olise is sent off
Coach Kompany reacted and made three substitutions at once. Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano, and Ismael Saibari entered the game. In the 51st minute, Luis Diaz had a chance on a volley but sent the ball into the side netting. Shortly before that, Konrad Laimer was brought down, prompting the VAR to intervene. After a brief review of the footage, the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Kane stepped up and coolly converted the penalty to make it 2-1, sending the ball into the right corner. Now FCB was on the attack. A shot by Bischof was saved, and Kane’s follow-up was blocked at the last second. In the 60th minute, Kane scored again, this time off a silky-smooth cross from the right side that Kimmich delivered into the middle.
Bayern kept up the pace. An outstanding attack in the 70th minute made it 3–2. Kane chipped the ball over the defense to Laimer, who played it straight into the middle, where Diaz found him and scored from close range. The game was 73 minutes in when there was a commotion involving Michael Olise. He received a yellow card for pulling an opponent’s jersey. After a brief altercation with his opponent, the Frenchman threw the ball in his face and was shown a second yellow card as a result.
Of course, things got hectic once again. Bayern made defensive substitutions, first bringing on Josip Stanišić, then Hiroki Ito. Ismael Saibari, who had come on at halftime, was substituted again in the closing minutes because he already had a yellow card. Then, in stoppage time, came the shock for Bayern: Herman Haugen scored the 3–3 equalizer! After a cross, he pushed the ball over the line with his shoulder. Prior to that, there had been a hard tackle on Kimmich, but it wasn’t called a foul.