FC Bayern Munich 1–2 Norwich City F.C. (1993)

Norwich had injury doubts over two of their players; defender John Polston and striker Efan Ekoku, who had scored seven goals to that point in the season;[32] both ultimately missed the match.[16] Those two, along with Ian Culverhouse, Rob Newman, Gary Megson and Ian Crook, had all been booked in the previous match against Vitesse Arnhem, meaning that a booking in this match would have ruled them out for the return leg.[33] For Bayern, Markus Schupp was suspended after receiving two yellow cards in the previous round against FC Twente,[20][21] but Olaf Thon who had been injured for six weeks declared himself fit.[34]

A feeling that the German side was arrogantly expecting victory was picked up on by the Norwich team. Bryan Gunn recalls: "It was disappointing that the Bayern management didn't show us any respect, there was an air of arrogance about them. We used that as a stimulus."[35] Despite this feeling, Uli Hoeneß, the Bayern general manager, had been cautious in his words to the German media before the match, telling Kicker that Norwich were a top team, especially away from home.[34] In Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Rainer Seele pointed to Norwich's away record as a cause for concern for Bayern;[36] they were the Premier League's strongest team having not lost a league match on their travels so far that season.[37]

The match kicked off at around 20:45 CET in front of a crowd of 28,500 at Munich's Olympiastadion.[38][39] Bayern Munich immediately went on the attack: in the second minute, a cross from Christian Ziege on the left wing found Marcel Witeczek at the near post, whose first-time shot went narrowly wide. The German side continued to control play for much of the opening ten minutes, patiently searching for a way through the Norwich defence. For their part, Norwich were content to pass the ball around and look for chances to counter-attack.[16] Twelve minutes into the match, after winning a free kick when Mark Robins was injured, Norwich attacked.[39] Newman's floated cross was headed away weakly by Matthäus, towards the edge of the Bayern Munich penalty area.[16] It fell straight into the path of Jeremy Goss whose volley from 20 yards (18 m) went past Raimond Aumann in the Bayern goal, and put the English team 1–0 ahead.[39]

Fifteen minutes in, the injured Robins was replaced by Daryl Sutch, who took up a position in midfield.[40] Bayern went back on the attack, but Adolfo Valencia was repelled by the Norwich defence.[16] Sutch had another chance for Norwich, getting away from Matthäus, and shooting at the near post, where it was pushed away for a corner by Aumann.[39] After 30 minutes, Crook knocked a free kick from the half way line towards the back post. Sutton and Oliver Kreuzer jumped for the ball, which floated over their heads. Stealing in behind both of them, Bowen met the ball with a stooping header, which flew past Aumann, giving Norwich a two-goal lead.[16] John Motson, who was commentating on the match for the BBC, said "This is almost fantasy football!"[41] Norwich continued to effectively deal with the pressure exerted by Bayern Munich; they frequently had every player except for Sutton behind the ball. In the 40th minute, Munich broke through when a cross from Jorginho on the right wing was met by a jumping Christian Nerlinger, who beat Spencer Prior to the ball and successfully steered his header inside Gunn's left hand post to halve the deficit. At half-time, the score was 2–1 to Norwich.[39]

Bayern maintained their patient passing game,[16] but increased the tempo of the match in the second half. After eight minutes, Valencia had another chance, turning six yards from Norwich's goal, but his shot was saved by Gunn.[39][40] A foul by Goss on Scholl resulted in a free kick to Bayern on the outside of the penalty area, which Matthäus struck over the crossbar. Norwich made some attacks of their own, winning two corners, but they could not take advantage of either.[42] After a late tackle by one of the Bayern players, which caught Sutton high on his right shin, Norwich's discipline broke temporarily when Butterworth retaliated shortly after with a two-footed tackle, earning him a yellow card.[39] Bayern Munich made two changes; Michael Sternkopf replaced Ziege in the 60th minute, and five minutes later Mehmet Scholl was substituted for Bruno Labbadia;[39] tactically, Matthäus pushed further forward from his deep-lying role.[43] After 75 minutes, Jorginho crossed the ball from the right, and Valencia aimed a powerful close-ranger header at goal, drawing a save that The Independent's Trevor Haylett described as "breathtaking" from Gunn. In his autobiography, Gunn says he saved it with his "goolies", adding "it doesn't matter how you keep them out, just as long as you keep them out", rating it the most important save of his career.[43] Kreuzer got to the rebound, but his shot went over the crossbar.[40][42] Bayern continued to attack; Valencia had another chance in the 78th minute, an overhead kick that he put wide, and within a minute Gunn had to make a save from Matthäus. Gunn was again called into action in injury time, diving at the feet of Labbadia, to ensure that Norwich won the match 2–1.[42]

Gunn's late saves helped preserve his side's lead.

When the final whistle blew, Walker gave his team hugs on the pitch, but warned them that they had "a tough game still to come at Carrow Road".[31] The British media were less guarded: "'Jerry sinks the Gerrys' was the inevitable headlined salute to Jerry Goss, Norwich's longest servant".[31] Other headlines included "Canaries ready for the kill", "Norwich shock Bayern Munich" and "Canaries stun Bayern with sensational win".[46][47][48][lower-alpha 2] Goss opined of his goal: "I didn't have to adjust my stride, I just hit it on the volley with my right foot. It was as sweet as anything".[25] Reflecting on the improbability of such a result, FourFourTwo wrote, "The news that Norwich had gone 2–0 up in the Olympic Stadium seemed frankly surreal".[50] That it was Norwich that inflicted the defeat was startling: Norwich were "mere babes at this level",[1] and, according to Goss, "There's no doubt Bayern assumed it would be easy".[2] When analysing the reasons for the result, The Independent laid the blame for the Germans' defeat on their attitude—which was blatant: "They paid the price of underestimating the opposition while embarrassment for one official was total after saying on the eve of the game, and in Walker's hearing, that they wanted a trip to Tenerife in the third round.[31]

In Germany, Kicker's analysis of the defeat was critical of Bayern's tactics. It suggested that after the first goal, Norwich played very deep and Bayern should have played through the wings more and shot more often. It also noted that Ziege was replaced when he was playing well, Helmer had not helped Sternkopf and Labbadia should have been brought on sooner, something the Bayern fans called for by chanting "We want Bruno".[51] Kicker also praised Norwich's tactics and discipline.[51]

Jeremy Goss has written of the reaction of the German players to the first leg defeat: they openly criticised Norwich, with Matthäus playing the lead role, saying that "Norwich was a nothing, little city where the people just ate mustard", a reference to Norwich as the home of Colman's mustard.[52] Goss described it as "not a good idea ... [the] sort of thing that does a manager's team talk for him".[52]

The return leg was played on 3 November 1993 at Carrow Road, a game in which Norwich's Ade Akinbiyi made his debut in front of a crowd of 20,643.[53][54] Already acknowledged as a club hero, some fans attended the match wearing Goss wigs and t-shirts imprinted with "Gossy". Gunn noted that Goss had been nicknamed "God" for "scoring such vital goals. He has been at the club for ten years and at last he is getting the recognition he deserves."[55]

Valencia scored a goal after four minutes to bring the aggregate score to 2–2.[1] On 50 minutes, Bowen's cross was headed on by Sutton to Goss, who scored. Gunn made saves from Jorginho, Ziege and Witeczek but no further goals were scored.[55] Norwich thus won the tie 3–2 on aggregate and qualified to face Internazionale in the third round.[56] Norwich lost the first leg 1–0 at Carrow Road after Dennis Bergkamp scored an 80th-minute penalty,[57] while the second leg at the San Siro also ended 1–0, again with a late winner from Bergkamp.[58] After beating Norwich 2–0 on aggregate, Internazionale went on to win the tournament.[56]

This was the first and only time Bayern Munich was defeated by a British club in the Olympiastadion.

The match has achieved considerable notability in the history of Norwich City, described as "arguably their finest hour" by the BBC,[59] while The Daily Telegraph called it "their finest performance".[60] John Motson commented that the match marked "the rise of Norwich City from provincial respectability to European admiration. It was the refreshing impact of loyal, unsung players ... that made City's continental capers so appealing".[61] In 2008, a poll, conducted by Norwich City recognised Goss's first leg goal as the greatest Norwich goal of all time.[62] In 2013, the club released a commemorative video to commemorate the match's twentieth anniversary.[24]

The match was the only time a British side beat Bayern in a game played in the Olympiastadion.[63] Since moving to their new Allianz Arena in 2005,[63] Bayern have suffered four further defeats against English teams, as of 2020. They lost the final of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League against Chelsea on penalties after the game finished 1–1 after extra time. Then on 13 March 2013, Bayern lost 2–0 against Arsenal, also in the Champions League, although they progressed to the next round on the away goals rule.[64] Bayern also lost a dead rubber match to Manchester City in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage.[65] In the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, Liverpool beat Bayern 3–1 in the Allianz Arena to reach the quarter-finals on their way to clinching their sixth title in the competition.[66][67]

Norwich ended their domestic season in 12th place in the 1993–94 FA Premier League,[68] and as of 2023, the club have not qualified to play in European competition again.[8] Bayern Munich went on to win the 1993–94 Bundesliga, securing the title by a single point ahead of Kaiserslautern,[69] and have subsequently won four UEFA competitions, including the Champions League in 2001, 2013 and 2020.[70]