FCB Women lose to OL Lyonnes in friendly

FC Bayern Women were beaten 4-1 by French record champions and eight-time Champions League winners OL Lyonnes in their final friendly of the summer. Lyon went in front shortly before the break at the adidas HomeGround through captain Wendie Renard. Lena Oberdorf equalised after the break but Kadidiatou Diani struck from the spot to make it 2-1 in the 81st minute, before Liana Joseph and Marie-Antoinette Katoto extended Lyon’s lead in the final minutes.

Barcala: ‘Helps us further in our development’

“We were more in the game after the break because of the tactical adjustments,” head coach José Barcala summarised. “We were better able to withstand the pressure, which gave us confidence. We also created some good chances as a result of having more possession, which I’m pleased about. The final score is obviously flattering, but overall I’m pleased with the friendly as it helps us further in our development.”

Grohs: ‘Can take a lot from the game’

“We fought our way into the game once we’d got used and adapted to the quick tempo and the aggression,” said Mala Grohs afterwards. “We were a lot more assured in possession in the second half. We can take a lot from this meeting into the game against Wolfsburg as we’re up against another team with a lot of pace and tackling strength there.”

Narrow deficit at half-time

A hard-fought, high-quality contest unfolded from the outset in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria. Despite a courageous start from Bayern, the first big chance of the game fell to the French side. Mala Grohs reacted quickly from a Selma Basha corner and diverted Ada Hegerberg’s close-range header over the bar (5’). In the tenth minute, Grohs’ goal was under threat again as Lilian Yohannes unleashed a volley from the edge of the area, which the FCB keeper stopped before also reacting well to the follow-up effort from Hegerberg. The game remained open after that but was largely concentrated in midfield with chances few and far between. In the 41st minute, Grohs was called into action again to save Vicki Becho’s long-range effort, but she was powerless to stop Renard’s rebound, which gave the French champions a 1-0 lead at the break.

Oberdorf equaliser in vain

José Barcala's team started the second period with three changes and in a more attacking manner, giving the eight-time Champions League winners little room with their high pressing. A corner from Klara Bühl caused chaos in the Lyon box and Oberdorf showed composure to bag her first goal in a Bayern shirt (59’). Bayern stayed on the front foot after that, with Jovana Damnjanović being denied by Christiane Endler from distance. The German champions were looking like the team more likely to take the lead until the 80th minute, when Jule Brand was upended in the box. Diani hit the resulting penalty down the middle to put the French side back in front. Joseph then made it 3-1 on the counter in the 90th minute, before Katoto completed the scoring in the third minute of added time.

Supercup & Bundesliga opener at the Allianz Arena

The defending double winners have their first shot at a silverware in the new season this Saturday as they face VfL Wolfsburg in the Supercup. Kick-off at the BBBank Wildpark in Karlsruhe is at 14:00 CEST. That’s followed a week later by the Bundesliga curtain-raiser against Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena, with over 45,000 tickets already sold.