Arsenal, England, December 7th 2022: Steph Catley (7 Arsenal) with the ball during the UEFA Womens Champions League game between Arsenal and Juventus at The Emirates in Arsenal, England. (Dylan Clinton/SPP)
Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers and captain Steph Catley agreed that they did not cope well with the changes Bayern Munich made in the second half of their UEFA Women’s Champions League match.
The Gunners had taken a 2-0 lead into the break – but conceded three in the second half as the hosts staged an impressive comeback.
“It was a game of two halves, definitely,” Catley said according to the club’s official website. “I think we came out in the first half and we played how we said we were going to play. We played with intensity, we scored when we needed to, we defended well.
“And I think as the game went on in the second half, they obviously threw everything at it, so they had nothing to lose, and we perhaps didn’t roll with those changes as well as we would have hoped.
“Obviously conceding that many goals in a half, and then the game slipped like that. It’s just not like us and it’s something that we’ll be looking back on through the footage and making sure we can improve for the next game, which is in a couple of days.”
Arsenal are disappointed: Renee Slegers
Head coach Slegers agreed, saying: “The first half was good. I think our press was working. We caused turnovers in their half, and I don’t think they found the solutions in the first half. I think we had good quality on the ball, we found spaces, we were supporting well, so first half was really good.
“But then the second half was totally different, because I think we dominated the first half. In the second half, Bayern dominated, especially after they scored the first goal. I think they start believing something.
“What they changed in the second half, they started to play more of a long-ball, second-ball game, and stack numbers high. So the whole game changed, and we didn’t deal with it well enough today, so that was disappointing.
“You’re never safe against top teams. You see that they scored a goal in a good moment, and it creates belief for them. You see what goals do to a game and to a team. We are disappointed. If you’re 2-0 up in the first half against Bayern, that’s a really good scenario. That’s, of course, the scenario that you want, so you absolutely don’t want to concede three in the second half.”
