Bayern Munich's Harry Kane heads home a goal against Viking in the Champions League Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Harry Kane has scored three goals in this year's Champions League

ByCallum Matthews
BBC Sport journalist

Norwegian champions Viking produced one of the biggest results in their history to hold six-time European winners Bayern Munich to a thrilling draw in the Champions League.

Viking, who were in Norway's second tier as recently as 2018, scored two first-half goals to take control before England captain Harry Kane equalised with a penalty and back-post header.

Luis Diaz gave Bayern the lead with a tap-in but Michael Olise was sent off shortly after for two yellow cards in the same phase of play, including throwing the ball in a Viking player's face.

That gave Viking, who are playing in Europe's top competition for the first time since 1992-93, renewed energy.

They were the better team after the red card and got a deserved equaliser when substitute Herman Haugen headed home at the back post.

Viking captain Zlatko Tripic told Norweigan channel Tv2: "I could have played another 90 minutes. I'm so incredibly proud. I've waited 34 years for this.

"We're playing against some of the best players in the world, yet we still managed to take a 2-0 lead. I think we played an incredibly solid match. We used everything we had. We've gained a bit of European experience. I'm just so unbelievably happy."

Viking, who have two head coaches in Morten Jensen and Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim, are joint top of the Norweigan top flight with Bodo/Glimt, with eight games remaining.

They took the lead after 71 seconds when Gianni Stensness rose highest to head home a corner, before Peter Christiansen superbly slot past Jonas Urbig on the break in the 38th minute.

Kane's brace, which pulled Bayern level, means he has 36 goals in 40 Champions League games since turning 30, taking him one clear of Lionel Messi's record of 35 strikes in his thirties.

The 33-year-old has scored in nine successive Champions League games - a feat only achieved by Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo, who holds the record with 11 games.

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany said: "We were dominant, but at the moment it feels like every chance for the opposition leads to a goal.

"It was our own fault. This red card was super dumb... you can see in (Michael's) eyes that he's sorry about it and that he regrets letting the team down."

Bayern host Arsenal on 21 October and will be without Olise after his sending-off, while Viking visit Aston Villa on the same night.

Who are Viking?

Viking players line up and link arms to celebrate with their fans after a 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions LeagueImage source, EPA
Image caption,

Viking's players lined up and linked arms to celebrate with their fans at full-time

This continues Viking's impressive rise.

Last season's top-flight Norwegian title was their ninth, but their first in 34 years.

They responded to a shock relegation in 2017, under English manager Ian Burchnall and with several British players in the team, by winning the second-tier title at the first time of asking under the stewardship of club legend Bjarne Berntsen.

That was achieved by Viking, who play on an artificial pitch in Stavanger, realising they needed to "go back to their roots", podcaster Lars Risan told BBC Radio 5 Live last year.

Bernsten followed that up with a domestic cup victory in 2019, but was surprisingly sacked after finishing sixth in the Covid-interrupted 2020 season.

They turned to his assistants Aarsheim and Jensen and they finished third in 2021 and 2024 before last season's title success.

Viking were knocked out of the Uefa Conference League in the third qualifying round by Turkish side İstanbul Basaksehir last season and had to overcome Croatian champions Dynamo Zagreb to qualify for the league phase of the Champions League.

Their last involvement in the competition saw them defeated 1-0 on aggregate by Barcelona in the two-legged first round in 1992-93, while their only top-flight European Cup victory came against Czech Republic side Banik Ostrava in 1976-77.

Perhaps their most famous European night was a 4-2 victory, which helped them to a 5-4 aggregate win, over Chelsea in the Uefa Cup first round in 2002.

Risan said "people were sceptical" when Aarsheim and Jensen were appointed, but added: "It seems like it just works for them even though people were laughing or asking questions. They figured out how they wanted to do it and stuck to it. They're both from Stavanger and love the club."

After the trip to Villa, Viking have a home game against competition debutants Sabah before matches against Atletico Madrid, Feyenoord, PSV and Napoli.

Figure caption,

'We're happily married' - Meet Viking's head coach duo

Player of the match

Number: 20 P. Christiansen
Average rating 8.69
Number: 20 P. Christiansen
Average Rating: 8.69
Number: 7 K. Askildsen
Average Rating: 8.62
Number: 3 V. Vevatne
Average Rating: 8.58
Number: 26 S. Kvia-Egeskog
Average Rating: 8.56
Number: 8 J. Bell
Average Rating: 8.51
Number: 25 H. Falchener
Average Rating: 8.49
Number: 27 J. Daland
Average Rating: 8.46
Number: 6 G. Stensness
Average Rating: 8.45
Number: 16 H. Bjørdal
Average Rating: 8.41
Number: 22 E. Botheim
Average Rating: 8.38
Number: 28 K. Haugen
Average Rating: 8.34
Number: 10 Z. Tripić
Average Rating: 8.30
Number: 29 T. Moi
Average Rating: 8.25
Number: 5 H. Heggheim
Average Rating: 8.21
Number: 1 A. Østbø
Average Rating: 8.20
Number: 2 H. Haugen
Average Rating: 7.87

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.