FCB Women draw 2-2 with Hoffenheim

FC Bayern Women drew 2-2 with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in their second 2023/24 pre-season friendly. In the meeting of Bundesliga rivals, TSG took an early lead through Pauline Krumbiegel in the second minute before Jovana Damnjanović turned the game around with a quickfire brace. Erëleta Memeti made the final score shortly before the break.

Several returnees

Head coach Alexander Strauss was able to count on a number of returning players in the friendly in Mietingen. Sydney Lohmann, Lina Magull, Tainara and Franziska Kett were named in the starting line-up, while Tuva Hansen and Alara Şehitler were on the bench along with Giulia Gwinn.

Damnjanović hits brace

Hoffenheim took the lead with the first attack of the game. Krumbiegel was released in the area and fired in the first goal of the evening into the left corner. Bayern didn't take long to get into the game, though. Just 10 minutes later, Straus' side were celebrating for the first time when Damnjanović rounded goalkeeper Martina Tufekovic and slotted in from close range.

Soon after, Damnjanović netted her second when Maximiliane Rall had the vision to play in the Serbian in the penalty area and the striker coolly lifted the ball over Tufekovic. The Bayern fans in attendance were celebrating again on the half-hour mark, when Lohmann converted Magull's pass, but the former was pulled up for a handball. The last act of a lively first half went to Hoffenheim, with Memeti scoring the equaliser from the right in the 41st minute.

Gwinn celebrates comeback

It took a bit of time for the second half to get going. However, the crowd did get to enjoy one highlight after around an hour, when Gwinn returned to action for the first time since her cruciate ligament tear. As a result of lots of substitutions, both teams only occasionally managed to create clear goalscoring opportunities. Each side had a chance to regain the lead late on, with Mara Alber hitting the post before Kett was thwarted one-on-one with Tufekovic on the stroke of full time.

'Unbelievably nice to be on the pitch again'

"It was unbelievably nice to be on the pitch again, even more emotional than the first comeback," said defender Gwinn after the game. "I think I can also be satisfied with my performance and hope that I can get more minutes still in the next one, so that I'm ready for the new season."

Brace scorer Damnjanović believes the team are on the right track: "We worked both goals nicely. For the first Sam plays a good pass, for the second it's good play by Maxi. I'm pleased I could get two goals out of it. In the second half, we unfortunately made too many mistakes but that's what friendlies are for. We'll get back to work now and want to raise the bar against Fortuna Sittard."

Sittard next week

FCB Women continue apace with their preparations for the new season in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga. The defending champions play their next friendly on Friday 1 September (18:00 CEST) at the FC Bayern Campus, when Dutch top-flight side Fortuna Sittard are the visitors.