Bühl breaks the deadlock, Harder makes history: how Bayern secured a late victory

The Estádio da Luz is no ordinary stadium for FC Bayern. It's a place that conjures up a perticular memory. In 2020, a single header there from Kingsley Coman in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain was enough for the men’s team to bring the trophy back to Munich. Since that moment, this cathedral of Portuguese football has felt a bit special to the Bavarians.

FC Bayern Women also left Lisbon as winners on Wednesday night. However, it took until the closing stages for them to seal what might look like to have been a comfortable victory. In their 3–0 win over Benfica, Klara Bühl’s magical strike from distance didn't come until the 74th minute. Up until then, the match had been less of a spectacle and more of a test of patience: Benfica had defended passionately and resolutely disrupted the Munich side's attacking play. Then, suddenly, things moved quickly. Pernille Harder scored her 50th Champions League goal before Franziska Kett wrapped up the win. Three goals in 14 minutes. On paper, that sounds like Bavarian dominance. The path to that result, however, was more of an obstacle course with the occasional stumble.

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A night calling for patience

Benfica were well-prepared. As they generally are whenever they face the Munich side. The Portuguese serial champions had won away at Juventus on the opening day of the campaign, sending a clear signal that they had no intention of merely making up the numbers this season. Consequently, the hosts defended in a deep block and were not shy in tackling the visitors, at times forming a Portuguese defensive wall  just outside their own penalty area, only with far more physical commitment. Crosses rarely found their target, the final pass didn’t always reach where it was intended to go, and in the centre there was a distinct lack of movement that might have lured a deep-lying defence out of their comfort zone. “Benfica made life very difficult for us,” said Bühl after the match. She added that the Portuguese players had been “absolutely brutal in their tackling” and very athletic. 

Plenty of possession but very little threat

Harder had Bayern's best chance of the first half in the 37th minute. Just before the break, a cross from Bühl looked to be dipping just under the bar, but Lena Pauels tipped the ball over. So the Munich side were certainly making their presence felt. All that was missing was the moment when that presence turned into a threat, but it was Benfica who almost provided it. After a pass from Giulia Gwinn was blocked, Frøya Dorsin got a shot away from around 20 metres. Ena Mahmutović had to really stretch to keep FCB from falling behind. It was the best chance of the first half and a sign that the match was by no means as one-sided as the Munich women's 65 per cent possession would suggest. 

Benfica become bolder

After the break, Bayern looked to step up the pace. Benfica, however, had other ideas: Andreia Norton tested Mahmutović at the near post, and shortly afterwards a corner was dangerously flicked on, but thankfully Catarina Amado just couldn't connect at the far post. The Munich side now had to be careful that their patience did not turn into passivity. The match was now wide open – uncomfortably so. At that point, no one could say for certain whether the Munich women would eventually find their rhythm or whether Benfica would take control of proceedings. Head coach José Barcala later described his side as the team that had grown as the evening progressed.

Bühl then does what Bühl does

In the 70th minute, it looked as though Bayern had found a way through. Momoko Tanikawa and Linda Dallmann linked up with a move through the centre and the ball eventually ended up with Harder, who was set up with a backheel from Dahlmann. Her shot was saved by Pauels, but Bayern had, for the first time, found a way to penatrate the lines. And just four minutes later, the breakthrough came. Following a goal-kick from the Benfica keeper, the ball fell to Bühl. The 25-year-old left her marker in her wake with a feint, created space on the edge of the penalty area and finished with her right boot. The ball struck the inside of the left post and bounced into the net. A typical Bühl moment: suddenly, the hard-fought clash had a decisive twist. “At first I thought the ball would bounce out again,” Bühl said later with a laugh. She’d intended to hit a powerful shot into the near corner. It worked.

Harder makes history – and doesn’t dwell on it for long

Benfica’s organisation fell apart after the 1–0. Harder had a chance to double the lead shortly after the opener and in the 80th minute, her chance finally came. Benfica failed to deal with a cross decisively; the ball fell at the Dane’s feet and she finished the job with her characteristic composure. Her 50th Champions League goal. Only Ada Hegerberg and Anja Mittag are now ahead of the 33-year-old; Eugénie Le Sommeris on the same total. It means the she's now a member of an exclusive club. She was subsequently, and quite rightly, voted Player of the Match. However, she didn’t want to take too much time to savour the historic moment. "Of course it’s nice to reach a milestone like this," she said. But she wants to score more goals, win matches and help the team. That’s just Harder for you. Others would make a big thing about their 50th goal. The 33-year-old is different in that respect. 

Kett wraps things up

Benfica were beaten, but it took the third goal to give the evening the clarity that had been lacking for so long. Kett launched the attack herself, received the ball back from Bühl in the penalty area and finished neatly into the right-hand corner. 3–0 in the 88th minute. A result that looked to sum up a convincing performance, even if the match had required considerably more patience. After the game, Dallmann said that Bayern had kept their cool in the closing stages. That hits the nail on the head: the Munich side didn’t play to their usual standard for long stretches, but never lost their nerve or their belief in their chances. They stayed in the game and waited until Benfica could no longer close down the crucial spaces.

Not spectacular, but invaluable

No one should read too much into this 3–0 win as a sign of a particularly strong performance from Bayern. For the most part, their game was too imprecise and lacked conviction. In their build-up play, Barcala’s side lost possession too often under pressure from the hosts. In the final third, they lacked pace, movement and that decisive spark. But it would be just as wrong to downplay the win. Benfica were no pushovers, but serious opponents in the premier club competition in European women’s football. Bayern had to work hard for this win.

Following their 2-2 draw against Manchester City in their opening match, the Munich women had secured their first three points in the league phase. As Bühl said, this gives the team a small cushion. However, one cushion does not make a sofa, so no one should rest on their laurels. Real Madrid await on 28 October, followed by Paris Saint-Germain and defending champions Barcelona, amongst others. First up, though, is the top-of-the-table clash in Frankfurt this weekend, against the team currently lying second in the league.

That's why the victory in Lisbon means more than just three points. It also provides something that is at least as important in a long season: the feeling of being able to see a difficult match through to a successful conclusion, even if it wasn't exactly pretty. Bayern were far from perfect at the Estádio da Luz. Yet the Munich side held their ground when the going got tough. Then Bühl produced her moment of magic. Harder added a historic touch, and Kett wrapped things up. So the 3–0 win was less a demonstration of dominance than a testament to resilience. Bayern didn’t win because everything looked easy. Bayern won because the team kept persevering despite things not going their way for much of the game.

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