Magnificent win in final home game! FCB Women celebrate against Frankfurt

• Victory in the final home game of the season
• Caruso & Harder score
• Cup final in Cologne next Thursday

Victory in the final home game of the season! On Saturday afternoon, FC Bayern Women celebrated a well-deserved 2–0 (1–0) win over Eintracht Frankfurt, maintaining their unbeaten run in their 25th Bundesliga game of the season. In front of club president Herbert Hainer, the Munich side got off to the better start. In the first half, Arianna Caruso put the German champions ahead with a strike in the 12th minute. After the break, Pernille Harder (47’) doubled the lead for Bayern.

1976 championship-winning team honoured

To mark the 50th anniversary of their first German championship, FC Bayern Women paid tribute to the 1976 side ahead of the match on Saturday afternoon. Emotions were running high even before kick-off, as the title-winning heroes from back then were honoured on the pitch by president Herbert Hainer and director Bianca Rech.

Farewells for various FCB players

Ahead of kick-off, a fitting farewell was bid to Caro Simon, Mala Grohs, Georgia Stanway, Natalia Padilla Bidas and assistant coach Kjetil Lone, who will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Lea Schüller and Tuva Hansen, who had already moved on during the winter break, were also given a final send-off in front of the home fans at the Campus. From everyone at FC Bayern: Thank you and servus!

Klara Bühl: ‘A very good feeling’

“We are incredibly happy to be celebrating the title here because it reflects a very consistent season. Team spirit obviously plays a huge role, as does the makeup of the team. We also took a step in the right direction in the Champions League this year. We reached the semi-finals, but of course we're not satisfied with that. When we returned home from Barcelona, ​​we realised: we want more. That's a great feeling; it shows the team's ambition and the path we want to take.”

Mala Grohs: ‘I’m delighted about the appreciation’

“I really enjoyed being able to play here one more time and I’m delighted about the appreciation. We’ve made good progress over the last seven years and always at the right time, too. We won the first title and then couldn’t repeat it because it took more out of us. Winning it four times in a row now shows that we’ve learned from that and worked hard.”

Caruso gives Bayern the early lead

The Munich side enjoyed a clear advantage in possession during the opening stages and effectively pinned the visitors back in their own half. Whilst Frankfurt sat in a deep block and were largely preoccupied with defensive duties, FCB repeatedly worked their way up to the edge of the box, and their dominance was rewarded for the first time in the 12th minute: the fleet-footed Klara Bühl played the ball into the penalty area, Pernille Harder cleverly flicked it on, and Caruso finished with a clinical left-footed shot from a central position to give the hosts the deserved lead.

The German champions continued to dominate the game. In the 19th minute, following a fine piece of link-up play, Harder found herself on the edge of the box and took a shot, but Frankfurt goalkeeper Lina Altenburg was quick to react and tipped the ball around the post for a corner.

Just a minute later, SGE made their first bold move in front of the Bayern goal and almost equalised: Laura Freigang beat Stine Ballisager to a cross from the left and got her head to the ball from close range, but Grohs reacted brilliantly to prevent the goal. Seven minutes later, Bayern once again broke quickly down the left wing. Harder played a through ball to Bühl on the left of the penalty area, and she fired in a mid-height cross to the far post, where Giulia Gwinn was waiting. Unfortunately, the Germany captain failed to make clean contact with the ball. The game subsequently settled down, and the Munich side went into the break with a narrow but deserved lead.

Harder doubles the champions' lead

After the break, Bayern were straight out of the blocks and, just two minutes after the restart, Pernille Harder made it 2–0 – the Dane’s 16th Bundesliga goal of the season. Following a cross from Bühl, Frankfurt’s Doorsoun failed to properly clear the ball in her own penalty area, allowing Harder to surge in from a deep position, rise highest and head home. SGE goalkeeper Altenburg got a hand to the ball but couldn't prevent the goal.

In the 53rd minute, SGE made their first impact in attack in the second half. Eintracht transitioned quickly; Geraldine Reuteler received the ball on the right just behind the halfway line and turned to shoot from around 40 metres, but her attempt flew well wide. Just two minutes later, Bayern came close again: Linda Dallmann whipped the ball in through the centre, but her shot was deflected for a corner, which came to nothing.

With 58 minutes on the clock, Eintracht had another good chance: with Bayern pushing high up the pitch, Erëleta Memetia found herself with plenty of space on the left wing. The winger drove into the penalty area, but then eased off the pace slightly and was denied by Grohs from a tight angle, as she closed down the angle at the near post.

With just over 20 minutes to go, Dallmann came within inches of scoring an absolute dream goal: The 31-year-old looked up from some way out and let fly with a shot that struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced just in front of the line. Two minutes later, the Munich side created another chance: Tanikawa had plenty of space on the left and fired in an effort from around 20 metres, but Ilestedt deflected the shot away for a corner. The encounter ended in a convincing home win in the Munich side’s final home game.

Cup final in Cologne and season finale at HSV

With their last home game of the season done and dusted, next up for FCB Women is the DFB Cup final this coming Thursday against VfL Wolfsburg. Kick-off at Cologne’s RheinEnergieSTADION is at 16:00 CEST. Three days later, on Sunday 17 May, the Munich women wrap up the season with an away game at Hamburger SV. The Matchday 26 clash kicks off at 14:00 CEST.