FCB Women reclaim top spot with comeback win at Leverkusen

Top of the league! In the concluding fixture on Matchday 7 of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga, FC Bayern Women came from behind twice to earn a 3-2 away win at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Sunday and reclaim the lead in the table. Cornelia Kramer's 20th-minute goal left Alexander Straus' side 1-0 down at half-time at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. The drama came in the second half, Sarah Zadrazil first equalising (50') before substitute Julia Mickenhagen put the hosts back in front immediately (51'). But the Munich girls didn't give up and levelled the score again through Georgia Stanway (66'), before substitute Alara Şehitler bagged the winner in the 90th minute.

With their sixth win in seven league games this season, the reigning champions now go into the international break as leaders on 18 points, ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg (both 16).

Straus: 'Worked really hard'

"It was very emotional when we scored the winning goal," said Straus afterwards. "I think we were clearly the better team but unfortunately we weren't clinical enough at the start. That's how we fell behind twice due to mistakes. But the girls worked really hard for the three point. Even though it wasn't a perfect performance, I'm extremely proud of how the team believed in themselves until the end and got the deserved winner."

Schüller recalled

Birthday boy Straus made just one change to the side that won 2-0 at Juventus in the UEFA Women's Champions League in midweek: Lea Schüller started in place of Sydney Lohmann.

Frustrating first half

The visitors started the game well and pushed Leverkusen back deep into their own half, creating chances at regular intervals. In the sixth minute, Klara Bühl suddenly found herself one-on-one against goalkeeper Friederike Repohl but didn't strike the ball cleanly. Shortly after that, a long-range effort from Carolin Simon whistled past the post (10') and five minutes later, captain Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir was denied by the crossbar from a corner. Bayer 04 had more luck and took the lead out of the blue with their first notable attempt, Kramer converting from Carolin Kehrer's cross. Bayern took a bit of time to recover from that but gradually reasserted their dominance. Shortly before half-time, Pernille Harder was thwarted by Repohl after a one-two with Bühl, and so they went into the dressing room with a narrow deficit.

Fast and furious in second half

The second period was just five minutes old when Bayern got to celebrate for the first time. Zadrazil advanced well through the penalty area and hammered the ball into the back of the net for a deserved equaliser. But virtually in the next move, half-time substitute Mickenhagen made it 2-1 to the hosts with a strike from distance (51'). The German champions continued to attack with gusto, though, and after a foul on Zadrazil in the box, the referee pointed to the spot. Stanway converted to restore parity (66'). Seven minutes after the equalier, Mickenhagen was shown a second yellow card. With an extra player, Bayern went on the attack and had Leverkusen pinned in their own penalty area, but it took until the 90th minute for substitute Şehitler to score the winning goal with a left-footed shot, sparking wild celebrations.

Top-of-the-table clash against Frankfurt after break

Following two weeks of midweek matches, the FC Bayern Women players now head off to their respective national teams. They resume their Women's Bundesliga campaign on Monday 4 November with a top-of-the-table clash against Eintracht Frankfurt. Kick-off at the FC Bayern Campus is at 18:00 CET.