FCB Women draw with Nürnberg in hard-fought friendly

• Dallmann and Harder on target
• First start for van Eijk
• Debut for Dafinger

FC Bayern Women twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw in their second pre-season friendly of the summer against 1. FC Nürnberg on Saturday afternoon. Natassja Lein (8th minute) gave Nürnberg an early lead at the Stauferpark-Stadion in Donauwörth, which was quickly cancelled out by Linda Dallmann (10’). Laro Meroni (48’) restored FCN’s lead shortly after the restart, but Pernille Harder (65’) drew Bayern level again.

Barcala: ‘Grew into the game’

“The opposition made it hard for us with their high intensity,” said Barcala after the game. “We had some problems finding our positions at the start and were too inaccurate. With time we grew into the game and then in the second half we were much more dominant. Nevertheless, we’re still not where we want to be.”

Open first half

The plucky Nuremberg side made the better start to the game, and although Regina van Eijk – making her first start in an FCB shirt – was able to save Meroni’s first effort from a quick counter-attack, the goalkeeper was powerless from Lein’s strike five minutes later. However, the German champions delivered the perfect response as Dallmann squeezed the ball in from close range from Harder’s square ball. After that, both sides kept things tight and had to try their luck in attack. Despite some chances, no more goals fell before half-time, with Harder missing a penalty for a foul on Jovana Damnjanović in the 30th minute to leave the score level.

Strong finish

Der Club also enjoyed the better start to the second half and restored their lead through Meroni just three minutes after the restart. Alara had a chance to equalise with a header 11 minutes later, but Lourdes Romero was equal to it. Bayern kept going, though, and after Damnjanović had initially squandered a promising opportunity, Harder headed in Dallmann’s deflected cross in the six-yard box. Four minutes later, a Klara Bühl corner hit the post. There was good news for Laura Dafinger, who made her first-team debut in the closing stages, during which the Munich girls had a number of chances but couldn’t find a winner.

Dress rehearsal and Supercup

Before FC Bayern Women compete for the first trophy of the new season in the Google Pixel Supercup against Wolfsburg in Ingolstadt on Saturday 15 August (19:30 CEST), there’s the final friendly against Paris FC. Kick-off on Sunday 9 August is at 16:00 CEST in the team’s future home of Sportpark Unterhaching. That game will be broadcast live on FC Bayern TV PLUS.

🎟️ Get tickets for the clash against Paris FC in Unterhaching HERE!