FCB Women comfortably see off Vålerenga

Third game, third win in the UEFA Women's Champions League! A confident FC Bayern Women didn't put a foot wrong in their home match against Vålerenga as they won 3-0 on Tuesday night. 

Pernille Harder (10th minute) and Giulia Gwinn (17') gave Alexander Straus' side an early 2-0 lead in front of 2,500 fans at the sold-out stadium at the FC Bayern Campus. Sarah Zadrazil wrapped up the victory in second-half stoppage time. Thanks to the comfortable home win, Bayern Women top Group C  at the halfway point of the group stage with the maximum haul of nine points, three ahead of Arsenal.

Straus: 'Very strong first half'

"I think there was a difference in class between the two teams," said Straus after the match. "We played a very strong first half but we should've scored more goals. In the second half, we controlled the game well and left the opponents running a lot. Thanks to the other results today, we're in a good position to reach the quarter-finals."

Gwinn: 'Made a great start'

"We just made a great start to the game and that gave us more confidence right at the beginning," commented the scorer of the second goal. "We performed brilliantly as a collective and were very present in the duels. We worked the first goal brilliantly and then we were able to quickly add to that, which obviously made it easier for us. Overall we had a lot of control for large periods and imposed ourselves."

Damnjanović, Schüller & Lohmann absent

Straus had to do without forwards Jovana Damnjanović and Lea Schüller following their collisions in the recent league games against Wolfsburg and Freiburg, as well as Sydney Lohmann (knee).

Harder and Gwinn on target

Bayern Women got into the game well and went in front after just 10 minutes. Klara Bühl fed the arriving Harder with a cross and the Dane headed in the opening goal. Seven minutes later, referee Alina Peşu pointed to the spot after a foul on Weronika Zawistowska in the box. Gwinn needed no second invitation and sent the visitors' goalkeeper Tove Enblom the wrong way to make it 2-0. The hosts remained in control after that and pushed for a third goal before the break, but Vålerenga always managed to get a foot in the way. Nevertheless, Bayern took a deserved two-goal advantage into the break.

Controlled second half

It was a similar story after the restart as the German champions moved the ball and their opponents around well, although didn't carry as much goal threat as they did for most of the first half. But midway through the second period, Straus' side had three opportunities to put the game to bed. First a deflected shot from Harder landed on the roof of the net (61'), then Gwinn fired narrowly over the goal (61') and finally Ylinn Tennebø made a goal-line clearance (63'). Stoppage time saw Magou Doucouré make her debut for Bayern Women, before Zadrazil's sweet volley made it a final score of 3-0.

Jena at home before Oslo trip

Before the return fixture against Vålerenga in Oslo on Thursday 21 November (21:00 CET), the German champions are in Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga action. The Munich girls host FC Carl Zeiss Jena at the FC Bayern Campus on Sunday 17 November at 14:00 CET.