The numbers make the result all the more remarkable. Bayern finished with 66 per cent possession, outshot Viking 25-8 and recorded an expected goals advantage of 3.51 to 0.56. The Norwegian side created very little overall, but showed extraordinary efficiency and were rewarded for a brave and disciplined performance.
Bayern rotate on unfamiliar surface
One unusual factor awaited Bayern in Stavanger, with the game played on artificial turf at the Lyse Arena. It was a surface the Bundesliga side are barely accustomed to in domestic football and one that changes the speed of the ball and some movement patterns.
Vincent Kompany made six changes from the 2-2 draw with Augsburg. Jonas Urbig replaced the injured Manuel Neuer in goal, while Min-Jae Kim, Nathaniel Brown, Konrad Laimer, Tom Bischof and Lennart Karl also came into the starting XI. Joshua Kimmich, Michael Olise, Luis Díaz and Harry Kane ensured there was still plenty of first-choice quality on the pitch. Viking lined up in a 4-3-3.
The tactical picture was clear from the outset. Bayern wanted to dominate possession, pin Viking back, keep width in attack and switch the point of attack through Kimmich and Bischof. Viking defended more compactly, looked to attack directly after turnovers and also placed plenty of emphasis on set pieces. Those two weapons ultimately produced both first-half goals.
Viking punish Bayern twice
Bayern were behind after just 71 seconds. Kim lost control twice in his own defensive third and eventually conceded a corner. Zlatko Tripić delivered into the box, where Gianni Stensness beat both Kim and Jonathan Tah in the air to head Viking into the lead.
Bayern responded with sustained pressure. After 20 minutes, the shot count already stood at 9-1 in their favour. Laimer went close, Díaz was denied by Arild Østbø and Kane also found himself in promising positions. The visitors dominated territory and possession, but their attacking play around the Viking penalty area was too predictable and lacked precision.
Viking’s second goal in the 38th minute made the scoreline even more surprising. Erik Botheim sent a long ball forward and Peter Christiansen broke from inside his own half. Brown could not recover, and Christiansen kept his composure in front of Urbig to make it 2-0.
Bayern went into the interval with around 73 per cent possession and a 13-3 advantage in shots, yet trailed by two goals. Viking had executed their plan almost perfectly: defend deep and compactly, force mistakes and attack the space immediately after regaining possession. Bayern had enough of the ball and created enough openings, but defended Viking’s few dangerous moments extremely poorly.
Bayern transform the game after the break
Kompany reacted decisively at half-time with three substitutions. Alphonso Davies replaced Brown, Dayot Upamecano came on for Tah and Ismael Saibari took Karl’s place. Bayern immediately looked more dynamic, pushed Viking deeper and introduced far more movement into the final third.
The comeback began in the 54th minute. Laimer reached the ball ahead of Kristoffer Haugen inside the penalty area and was caught by the defender’s attempted clearance. Kane converted the resulting penalty to make it 2-1.
Six minutes later, Bayern were level. Kimmich delivered from the right half-space and Kane held off his opponent before heading home for 2-2. The England captain was Bayern’s most influential player not only because of his two goals. He repeatedly dropped into deeper areas, linked midfield with attack and later played an important role in the move that produced the third goal.
Díaz completes comeback before Olise sees red
In the 71st minute, Bayern appeared to have completed the turnaround. Kane played a precise pass into Laimer’s run, the Austrian squared from the right and Díaz arrived centrally to finish for 3-2.
Within 17 minutes, Bayern had transformed a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead and had left Viking with barely any opportunity to relieve the pressure.
But the German champions immediately complicated matters for themselves. In the 73rd minute, Olise first stopped an opponent with a tactical foul and was booked. In the same sequence, he threw the ball into the face of the Viking player and was shown a second yellow almost immediately. By the 74th minute, Bayern were down to ten men.
Olise will therefore miss Bayern’s next Champions League match against Arsenal on 21 October. His dismissal also changed the dynamic in Stavanger. Instead of continuing to keep Viking pinned back, Kompany’s side were forced into a deeper defensive shape.
Haugen snatches late equaliser
Viking increased the pressure and began looking more frequently for crosses and set pieces. Urbig initially preserved Bayern’s lead in the 80th minute when he saved Henrik Falchener’s header following a corner.
In the 90th minute, however, the goalkeeper could do nothing. Tripić delivered into the area and substitute Herman Haugen rose to head home the 3-3 equaliser. Urbig then had to intervene once more in stoppage time to prevent Viking from completing an extraordinary comeback of their own.
The draw remains difficult to explain statistically. Bayern produced 3.51 xG compared with Viking’s 0.56, while their 25-8 advantage in shots and 50-14 edge in touches inside the opposition box underline their overall superiority. Conceding three goals from such a low expected-goals figure also shows just how ruthlessly Viking punished Bayern’s defensive mistakes.
Viking got plenty right. The Norwegian side defended with commitment, posed a real threat from set pieces and executed their few counter-attacks with remarkable efficiency. Bayern, meanwhile, showed considerable attacking quality after the break and created more than enough chances to win.
Their slow start, poor defensive protection against Viking’s transitions and Olise’s unnecessary dismissal ultimately proved costly. The red card is particularly damaging ahead of the next Champions League fixture against Arsenal. Olise is one of Bayern’s most important and in-form attacking players and will now be absent against one of Europe’s strongest sides. In a game where Bayern are likely to need creativity, individual quality and penetration in the final third, his absence could be significant. After two matches, Bayern have four points.
