FC Bayern Women kick off tournament with 4-2 win over Ajax

Having arrived in sunny Portugal on Tuesday, FC Bayern Women then got into the action at the World Sevens Football tournament on Wednesday as they kicked off their group campaign with a 4-2 win over Ajax in Estoril. Alexander Straus’s team fell behind early on in the seven-a-side competition, played on a smaller pitch and with two 15-minutes halves. Lotte Keukelaar struck on the counter for the Dutch side inside three minutes, seeing her shot deflected off Michelle Ulbrich. “The game in this format is very quick. We need to get used to that,” Jovana Damnjanović said afterwards.

The goal proved to be a wake-up call in this fast-paced game, as Bayern then pushed to break up Ajax’s play and only needed a few minutes to level when Damnjanović forced the ball in off goalkeeper Regina van Eijk. Julia Zigiotti failed to make the most of good play by Momoko Tanikawa, but captain Glódis Viggósdóttir then put Germany’s double winners ahead before the break. “Little mistakes can mean a lot in this format. We saw that in this game,” Straus stated.

Quick from restart

Zigiotti found Tuva Hansen to take Bayern’s lead to 3-1 straight after the restart. Damnjanović then slipped in Linda Dallmann to turn home the fourth with 20 minutes gone. Damnjanović could’ve even made it five but missed a penalty. “We found our feet in the second half and saw the space. It’s good fun. You can quickly create dangerous chances,” the Serbian striker added. Ajax would get one back when a ball from Magdalena Eriksson was cut out.

Nevertheless, Straus was pleased with what he saw: “We could’ve scored more goals, but we played really well and deserved to win.” Damnjanović also concluded at the end of Day 1: “I think we’ll be even better prepared for the format tomorrow.”

Two games on Thursday

Bayern take on Rosengard next at 3.30pm CEST on Thursday. The Swedes lost 4-0 to Manchester City in their opening game. The Munich Frauen then take on the English side in the first of the evening games at 7.30pm.

In the other group, Manchester United edged Roma 3-2, and Paris Saint-Germain beat Benfica 2-1.

You can watch every match at the World Sevens Football tournament live and for free: