FC Bayern Women secure first win of Bundesliga campaign

FC Bayern Women got their first three points of the 2023/24 Google Pixel Bundesliga season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Köln on Monday night in the first home game of the campaign. Pernille Harder put Alexander Straus’s side ahead in front of a capacity 2,500 crowd at the FC Bayern Campus with the final move of the first half. Linda Dallmann rounded things off in the second.

Three changes and a debut

Straus made three changes from the team that started the 2-2 draw away at Freiburg on Matchday 1. Magdalena Eriksson started in place of Tainara at centre-back for her Bundesliga debut. Dallmann and Lina Magull also came in for Klara Bühl and Sydney Lohmann. Bayern remained without Carolin Simon, Weronika Zawistowska (both cruciate ligament) and Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir (dislocated patella).

World Cup honours for Eriksson and Stanway

Ahead of the game, Georgia Stanway and Eriksson were presented with flowers for their achievements at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Stanway’s England had finished as runners-up, while Sweden and Eriksson came third.

Harder earns half-time lead

After an evenly matched opening phase, Bayern came closest to Jasmin Pal’s goal in the eighth minute, but Stanway fired wide. The hosts took control of the game and created the next chance for Lea Schüller. However, her header and further efforts later from Magull and Stanway were repelled by Pal. Magull had another attempt from a narrow angle shortly before the break but was again denied by the Köln goalkeeper. However, there was little she could do on the stroke of half-time as summer signing Harder headed Bayern ahead when she met a Giulia Gwinn cross at the far post.

Commanding second half

Bayern picked up where they left off after the break and quickly had a chance for a second as Harder tried an audacious back heel that went wide. Dallmann made no mistake on 57 minutes, though, when she ran onto Stanway’s pass and beat Pal to make it 2-0. Die Frauen made sure that two-goal advantage was enough as they saw out the game. The only bad news was an injury to Lohmann, who had to go off again shortly after coming on.

To Essen then Frankfurt at home

Before the Women play their first-ever Bundesliga game at the Allianz Arena when they host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, 14 October, Straus and his team have to go to Essen next weekend. Kick-off on Sunday, 8 October is at 14:00 CEST.

You can still get tickets for the game at the Allianz Arena HERE.