Late equaliser - FCB women draw in UWCL opener

• Sold-out FC Bayern Campus
• Damnjanović and Naschenweng put the home team ahead
• Equaliser in stoppage time

FC Bayern Women drew 2-2 (2-0) with AS Roma in the opening match of the UEFA Women's Champions League. Jovana Damnjanović (20th minute) and Katharina Naschenweng (45'+4) gave them the lead in the first half, before Evelyne Viens (58') and Manuela Giugliano (90'+1) equalised after the break. Among the 2,500 spectators watching the Reds' UWCL match were president Herbert Hainer, sporting director Christoph Freund and the new team lead coaching development and playing philosophy, René Marić.

Three changes to the starting XI

Compared to the 2-0 home win against MSV Duisburg, head coach Alexander Straus made three changes to the starting line-up. Magdalena Eriksson came in for Tainara, while Jill Baijings and Tuva Hansen started on the bench and were replaced by Lea Schüller and Giulia Gwinn.

Bayern were still without the long-term injurees Pernille Harder (medial ligament injury), Carolin Simon (cruciate ligament tear), Weronika Zawistowska (cruciate ligament tear) and Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir (dislocated kneecap). Lina Magull returned to the squad for the first time following her muscle strain, and Klara Bühl celebrated her 100th competitive appearance in an FC Bayern jersey in the CL opener.

Damnjanović scores the opener

The Munich Women started the game on the front foot and were the more active team. The hosts had their first chance to score after just over ten minutes: Gwinn crossed from the right to Schüller, who flicked the ball on to Linda Dallmann. She tried a shot from a central position, but the visitors' goalkeeper Camelia Caesar was in the right place (11'). The counter-attack then gave Roma their first chance, but Evelyne Viens shot over from 16 metres (14'). Bayern continued to push forward and were rewarded shortly afterwards: A free-kick from Naschenweng found Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, who passed to Damnjanović, and she slotted the ball over the line from close range (20'). The visitors saw the goal as a wake-up call and stepped up the pace a little. Manuela Giugliano won possession in front of the penalty area and fed Laura Feiersinger in the centre, but the former Munich player's shot from 15 metres went just over the crossbar (25').

Naschenweng increases the lead before the break

The Reds created another chance just under ten minutes later when Schüller sought out Damnjanović with a cross, but Caesar was quicker to the ball. Dallmann was straight onto another chance, but the visitors were able to clear at the last moment (37'). The game continued to go back and forth, with Emilie Haavi firing the next shot at Maria-Luisa Grohs' goal, but just going wide (42'). The Munich Women were dominant again in first-half stoppage time: First, Dallmann dragged a shot from 15 metres just wide of the right-hand corner, then an effort from Bühl was blocked for a corner. Bayern then extended their lead on the stroke of half-time: Naschenweng had a go from just under 18 metres, her attempt was deflected not once but twice in the penalty area and finally found its way into the net (45'+4).

The visitors pull one back in the second half

Bayern had the first big chance of the second half. Lea Schüller popped up in front of Caesar and got the ball past the goalkeeper, but the visitors were able to make a goal-line clearance (51'). Roma's goalkeeper was forced to make another last-ditch save just two minutes later, when Damnjanović got her head to a Schüller cross seven metres from goal (53'). Roma took a little while to get back into the game after the restart, but then made the match exciting again with a long ball to Viens, who gave Grohs no chance with a powerful shot from a half-left position (58').

Bayern ramp up the pressure - Schüller narrowly misses

After Roma narrowed the lead, the game completely opened up again. It took a while for the Munich side to pose a threat in the box agan, but when they did, things got quite heated in front of Caesar. First, Schüller initially just missed a delivery from Sarah Zadrazil, and the Austrian's follow-up attempt was eventually saved by the visitors' goalkeeper (67'). Dallmann had the next chance to restore the two-goal gap but was unable to get her shot on target with any real venom from a tight angle after a perfect pass from Gwinn (73').

Five minutes before the end of normal time, substitute Sydney Lohmann had a glorious chance to take the lead with Caesar beaten by a Bühl cross, but Moeka Minami was able to make a last-ditch goal-line clearance (85'). The squandering of so many chances proved to be costly as the game went into stoppage time. Grohs parried brilliantly from Giugliano, but the goalkeeper was powerless against the follow-up shot and the visitors equalised (90'+1).

Away in Bremen and Paris

Next up for the FCB women are two away games. First off, the Munich women travel to the north of Germany: On Sunday, 19 November, Bayern face Werder Bremen (18:30 CET). After that, it's straight into the Champions League. On Thursday, 23 November, Straus' side take on Paris St. Germain at 18:45 CET.