FC Bayern Women take top spot with victory in Wolfsburg

FC Bayern Women moved back to the top of the Google Pixel Bundesliga table with a 3-1 win away at Wolfsburg on Matchday 6. Klara Bühl and Momoko Tanikawa scored either side of a home equaliser before Alara Şehitler added a late third to claim victory at the Volkswagen Arena and move on to 16 points – now three clear of Wolfsburg at the summit.

Sign of support

Before the game kicked off, Bayern expressed their support for midfielder Sarah Zadrazil, who recently suffered a cruciate ligament tear against Freiburg, by wearing shirts during the warm-up saying “ALWAYS and all ways with you!”.

Bühl strikes first

After initially sizing each other up in the opening minutes, Bayern started to take control of proceedings with their intense pressing. The defending champions had the first chance of note after 17 minutes when Bühl forced goalkeeper Stina Johannes into a sharp save by her post from a tight angle. But there was no stopping the Germany forward in the 27th minute when she drove at the Wolfsburg defence from the left, cut inside on her right foot and beat Johannes inside the near post. Bühl and Bayern could’ve had a second before the break, but Johannes was able to tip her long-range effort over the bar.

Two goals to secure victory

Wolfsburg got off to the better start in the second half and levelled within a few minutes as Bayern failed to clear a corner before Janina Minge fired in the decisive effort via a deflection as Ena Mahmutovic conceded for the first time in the Bundesliga this season. But the Munich Frauen had a quick response of their own when Tanikawa volleyed in a Giulia Gwinn cross just before the hour mark. Pernille Harder had an opportunity to wrap things up five minutes later, before substitute Alara did just that in added time, moments after Wolfsburg’s Joelle Wedemeyer had been sent off for a foul on Lea Schüller.

Home to Juventus and Köln

The games continue to come thick and fast for Bayern as they next host Juventus in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Thursday (21:00 CEST). Then Köln are the visitors to the Campus on Sunday in the Bundesliga (16:00).