Winning run continues: FCB Women triumph in Hoffenheim

• Tenth consecutive win in all competitions
• Momoko Tanikawa with a brace
• Carolin Simon plays 150th game for Bayern and 250th in the Bundesliga

FCB Women produced an impressive display in the Kraichgau as they triumphed 5-1 at TSG Hoffenheim, celebrating their 10th win in a row in all competitions. The team now go into the last international break of the year with a six-point cushion at the top of the table. The hosts did take an early lead through Valesca Ampoorter’s penalty in the 10th minute, before Georgia Stanway levelled the score on the half-hour mark. Bayern then ran away with it in the second half, with a goal from Alara, two from Momoko Tanikawa and a further strike from Arianna Caruso sealing the valuable three points. 

Gestures of support before kick-off

There were two special activities before kick-off. The FCB Women players wore special warm-up shirts with a message of support for Lena Oberdorf after the recurrence of her cruciate ligament injury. As well as that, both teams presented a “WE29” banner together in support of the DFB’s bid to host UEFA Women’s EURO 2029 (‘WE29 – Together WE Rise’), with FCB captain Stanway wearing a WE29 armband during the game.

Simon: ‘Happy to be back’

“To be honest, I only found out after the match that it was my 150th appearance for Bayern,” said Carolin Simon after the final whistle. “I’m just happy to be able to get a few minutes on the pitch again after my injury. The match was really fun and I’m very proud of our team for what we’ve achieved together in the last few weeks.”

Barcala: ‘Shown a strong level’

“I want to congratulate my players and my staff: the last three weeks have been really intensive – seven matches back-to-back, hardly any time for training or preparation, and yet we’ve shown a strong level in all the matches, including today,” praised head coach José Barcala. “After going behind early, we stayed calm and continued to dominate the match. Then with the numerical advantage, we created more chances and after the second and third goals, the match was completely under our control.”

Stanway cancels out early deficit

The Munich girls dominated the early stages of the match, hardly allowing Hoffenheim any possession. Yet it was the hosts who took the lead after 10 minutes: Ampoorter was fouled by Alara in the box and converted the penalty herself to make it 1-0 to TSG. The defending double winners dictated proceedings after that but lacked the final penetration in attack. 

That was until the 30th minute, when Tanikawa won the ball on the edge of the opposition penalty area and threaded it through to the waiting Stanway, who kept her composure and slotted in the deserved equaliser into the near corner. Hoffenheim were then reduced to 10 players shortly before the break after defender Lisann Karl was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Jovana Damnjanović. Bühl curled the subsequent free kick towards the top left corner, but goalkeeper Laura Dick saved.

Alara and Tanikawa turn it around

FCB came out fired up at the start of the second half and wasted no time in turning the game in their favour. From a Bühl corner, the ball landed at the feet of Alara, and the Germany international made no mistake as she gave the visitors the lead. Hoffenheim had a chance to reply when Jill Janssens went through on goal, but Bayern keeper Ena Mahmutovic came out on top. It was mostly Munich pressure, though, and Tanikawa made it 3-1 on 55 minutes, receiving the ball from Stanway’s deflected pass before seeing off two defenders and firing in from 10 metres. The defending double winners continued to create chances but Bühl’s long-range effort and Damnjanović’s lob both lacked the required accuracy.

That wasn’t the case in the 74th minute. Again Tanikawa and Stanway linked up brilliantly, with the Englishwoman playing in the Japanese in the penalty area and Tanikawa stroking it in to make it 4-1 and complete her brace. Caruso then got her name on the scoresheet when she hammered the ball into the roof of the net in the 80th minute.

International break before crunch clash

Following the victory in Hoffenheim, FC Bayern Women now split off into their various national teams. They return to Bundesliga action in two weeks, on Sunday 7 December at 17:00 CET, with a key clash away to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.