Hard-fought win in front of record crowd: FCB women beat Bayer in opener | OneFootball

This Saturday, the FC Bayern women played against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. It was the first match of the new season, and thus served as a benchmark. There was much anticipation for this game, especially since it took place at the Allianz Arena.

And that in front of a record crowd. 57,762 fans created a fantastic atmosphere in Munich's football temple. The FCB women wanted to live up to this setting and show right from the start that the title would once again have to go through the reigning champions.

But Leverkusen made sure that this match would be a tough piece of work. The Bayer players were active, aggressive, and at times even had the upper hand in the first half. Coach José Barcala, who is new to the FCB women, had to do a lot of coaching to get the team on track.

FCB women take a long time to shine

The 0-0 score at halftime was actually a bit flattering for the Bayern women. In the second half, under the watchful eyes of club dignitaries including Uli Hoeneß, the reigning champions gradually created more chances. A corner kick finally brought the lead, with Vanessa Gilles heading in after 75 minutes and sparking the first big celebration in the arena—if you don’t count the announcement of the attendance figure.

Just a minute later, Klara Bühl was on hand to make it 2-0. “We have great quality in the squad. Today, the coach did the right thing by bringing me on as a joker, even though of course you always want to start, I won’t deny that,” she said after the match to ARD. Lena Oberdorf’s Bundesliga comeback in the closing stages was also duly celebrated.

In the end, thanks to the improved performance in the second half, it was a deserved victory and a match that lived up to the occasion. Nevertheless, the three points should be classified as a hard-fought win. “It was a really, really tough piece of work. They made it really difficult for us. We stayed patient. You can’t give up; sometimes it just takes time. Leverkusen is a brutally good team. That’s why it’s important to keep calm,” confirmed Caro Simon after the match.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.