A statement victory from FC Bayern Women against Wolfsburg

There was an unusual quiet around the FC Bayern Campus as the referee blew her whistle to signal half-time. No crowd murmurs, no banging. Just a calm moment as Bayern’s players headed into the changing room visible annoyed at being 1-0 down to Wolfsburg. It was a moment they hadn’t had at all in the Bundesliga this season, but the game was far from over.

Wolfsburg’s first half

The She-Wolves sprung a bit of a surprise in the first 45 minutes. They’d just arrived from Turin and a 2-0 win over Juventus that saw them join Bayern in the last 16 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Stephan Lerch’s side appeared to be in no way overawed by the magnitude of this first-vs.-second encounter in the Bundesliga. They pressed hard and played balls into areas that Bayern didn’t want them, forced Bayern into mistakes. Kessya Bussy’s goal was perhaps a surprise but by no means a fluke. Bayern had had their moments but without any end product. Wolfsburg defended like a well-drilled team that believed in their plan. Things looked to be going their way at the game’s halfway point. The question wasn’t whether Bayern would respond but more how they could they do it.

Work in the changing room

What was said inside the changing room will remain a secret, but it was quickly evident that it had made an impact. Bayern returned for the second half like a corrected version of themselves. Suddenly they were all in the right places, finding their range of passing, winning duels and increasing the tempo. There was nothing hectic about it. It was all finely controlled as things now clicked. Wolfsburg were forced back, now reacting rather than playing proactively. The champions were on top.

Clinical Damnjanović

With momentum firmly with Bayern, up stepped their longest-serving player. Jovana Damnjanović with all her experience and know-how read the game to charge down a Stina Johannes clearance and suddenly level things up with 54 minutes gone. Barely two minutes later, she had another against her former club and Bayern were ahead as the striker turned in Franziska Kett’s low cross from the left. “It’s a really amazing feeling to win a game like this 4-1. I think we’re all very happy today,” the game’s star said with a broad smile after the final whistle.

Football can be hard but then wonderful the very next moment. The veteran Serbian striker had turned things around and all of a sudden the Campus was bouncing.

“That’s typical Jovi, also the emotions that came out afterwards. I’m so incredibly happy for her. She worked hard for those goals,” said Giulia Gwinn afterwards. Glódís Viggósdóttir added, “We didn’t perform to our best in the first half. We had problems in build-up, but we knew before the game it would be difficult. We used our experience and kept calm.” Turning to Damnjanović, the captain had some final powerful words: “Jovi is an incredible player. She stands for Bayern’s values like few others.”

Momentum with Bayern

Wolfsburg tried to dust themselves off, but momentum had gone completely the other way. Georgia Stanway slotted home Bayern’s third of the afternoon in the 70th minute. Klara Bühl then rounded things off with her 50th Bayern goal as the She-Wolves simply chased shadows. “It was a really great feeling. I’ve really got a taste for scoring goals,” the forward said with a grin. “It was really unusual for us how Wolfsburg played. The first half really justified that for them. But we then turned things around in the second half. It was maybe also a new experience for us, taking the next step at this level,” the 25-year-old stated.

Three from three

It was Bayern’s third win over Wolfsburg this season, following the Supercup and reverse fixture in the league. And it took the defending champions 14 points clear at the top, having won 17 out of 18 Bundesliga fixtures. Even with the surprise of a postponed their game at the last minute on Monday, a disappointing first half and an opponent that has caused them real issues down the years, it was a potentially title-defining response and display by José Barcala’s side.

Key weeks again

Players will now head off to join their national teams before returning to Munich for a big run of fixtures across the DFB Cup, Bundesliga and their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United. It’s a spell that could see dreams of silverware quickly dissipate. But as they did against Wolfsburg, Bayern will keep calm. Not much can knock them back.

🗞️ Read more about the game in our report:

👀 Focus on Jovana Damnjanović: