Roma Women came from two goals behind to draw 2-2 with Bayern Munich in their Champions League group stage opener on Wednesday.
After Bayern took the lead in somewhat controversial circumstances through Jovana Damnjanovic in the 20th minute, they extended their advantage via an unfortunate Elena Linari own goal before the break.
However, when Evelyne Viens pulled one back for Roma just before the hour mark, it gave the Giallorosse new momentum and confidence. Eventually, a determined Manuela Giugliano equalised in the last minute to preserve Roma’s unbeaten start to the season.
It was a deserved point, too, considering Roma actually managed to enjoy more possession (52%) than their hosts and had a similar number of attempts (and in fact one more on target).
Here, Giallorossi Yorkshire highlights some facts after the game.
First time in losing position all season
Prior to Wednesday’s game, Roma were on a roll with 10 wins out of 10 across all competitions this season. They knew, though, that this would be a bigger test.
Although there were elements of fortune involved for both of their goals, Bayern generally had the better of the first half, putting Roma behind for the first time so far this season.
Yet Alessandro Spugna’s side showed they still have the resilient qualities that have helped them climb to the top of the tree in Italian football and ultimately cancelled out a two-goal deficit for the first time since a draw with AC Milan in May.
Viens completes first UWCL 90 minutes for Roma
The addition of Viens to the Roma squad over the summer has not only added strength in depth, but star quality to their attacking areas.
The Canadian forward is the side’s top scorer so far this season, now with eight goals – although this was just her second full match for the club.
Her previous 90-minute appearance was in the league against Sampdoria in October, while her two outings against Vorskla – in which she scored both times – in the previous round of the Champions League saw her start but come off to be replaced by a substitute.
Viens kept up her record of scoring in 100% of the Champions League matches she has played in for Roma so far, even when the pressure was higher, finishing with a confident left-footed strike to halve the deficit.
Giugliano climbs onto podium of all-time top scorers
Roma sensed they could get something out of the game after Viens had given them hope and it was stand-in captain Giugliano who ensured they earned a share of the spoils.
After providing the assist for Viens’ goal, Giugliano equalised for Roma – with the slight help of a deflection – after a determined approach from an angle.
Credited to the midfielder, the goal means Giugliano has now scored 27 times for Roma in all competitions, which has put her onto the podium of their all-time top scorers in third place, behind Annamaria Serturini and Andressa Alves but now above Paloma Lazaro. Valentina Giacinti rounds out the top five.
Latest goal in a UWCL group match
The equaliser came in the 90th minute, which is the latest Roma have scored in a Champions League group match.
There was also a 90th-minute goal in the Champions League for them last season, but Emilie Haavi’s was in round two of qualification before the group stage.
In this instance, Roma kept believing against the top seed in the group and got their rewards for an encouraging performance.
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