Three goals in 14 minutes earn FCB Women late win

• Pernille Harder scores 50th Champions League goal
• First three points of UWCL campaign
• Away win at Estádio da Luz

FCB Women claimed a hard-fought 3-0 win over Benfica at the Estádio da Luz in their first away match of the new UEFA Women’s Champions League season. After a goalless first half, Klara Bühl put Bayern in front on 74 minutes. Pernille Harder made it 2-0 in the 80th minute, before Franziska Kett rounded off a perfect night with the third goal in the 88th minute.

Klara Bühl: ‘Had to dig deep tonight’

Klara Bühl: “We had to really dig deep tonight. The first half was open, then at the break we tweaked our pressing in particular. That was a key factor. A lot of work went into this 3-0 win. We closed the spaces well and showed in the second half what we’re capable of: possession, drive towards goal and efficiency. Our aim is to manage that consistently over 90 minutes.”

Dallmann: ‘Kept our heads in the closing stages’

Linda Dallmann: “There are no easy away games in the Champions League. We struggled especially in the first half to create chances. We kept our heads in the closing stages, and I’m proud that we didn’t panic at any point. The whole team have the ambition and the level, which we’ve not been able to show it over the full 90 minutes yet.”

Attacking first half without goals

The first test away in Europe this season began with attacking, end-to-end football from both sides. Bayern registered the first attempt on goal in the sixth minute, but Jovana Damnjanović couldn’t get enough power on her header from 12 metres from Linda Dallmann’s cross.

As the game went on, FCB Women had more of the play and began to control proceedings, but struggled to find gaps against the alert Benfica defence. Several crosses from Giulia Gwinn and Bühl failed to find their intended recipients, while Harder was also denied when she broke into the penalty area. In fact, it was the hosts who surprisingly had the best opportunity of the first period, when a blocked pass landed at the feet of Fröya Dorsin, whose shot from 20 metres was saved by the diving Ena Mahmutovic.

As the pressure from José Barcala’s side increased, the action happened almost exclusively in the Benfica half. But still, every attempt, whether from distance or after combinations in the penalty area, was blocked by a foot or a leg. The upshot: the two teams went in goalless at the break.

Three late goals bring relief

Benfica started the second period brightly and half-time substitute Andreia Norton tested Mahmutović at her near post immediately after the restart. The resulting corner was flicked onto the far post, where Catarina Amado only just missed it. Six minutes later, Bayern attacked quickly down the left flank and a deflected square pass ran through to Gwinn, but her long-range effort was also deflected wide of the target. From the subsequent corner, Damnjanović tried to outsmart the defence with a bicycle kick but goalkeeper Lena Pauels was equal to it.

Bayern kept going against the battling hosts and were almost rewarded in the 58th minute. Bühl’s precise delivery from the left found Harder around the penalty spot and the Dane met the ball almost perfectly with her head, but it sailed centimetres over the bar. At the other end, Chandra Davidson also went close with a header following a corner.

The breakthrough finally came on 74 minutes. Bühl picked up the ball following a Pauels goal kick and skipped away from a defender with a quick sidestep. From the edge of the box, the Germany international unleashed a powerful strike that went in off the inside of the post to make it 1-0. Benfica were now clearly winded and Bayern took advantage, doubling their lead just six minutes later with a historic goal. The hosts failed to clear a cross and Harder pounced, sweeping the ball in at the near post to become only the fourth player to reach 50 goals in the Women’s Champions League. The third and final goal was scored by Kett from a counter-attacking move she initiated herself. Her pass to Bühl was returned to her in the penalty area and the full-back did the rest.

Top-of-the-table clash in Frankfurt before international break

It’s back to Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga action for the German champions on Saturday 3 October. José Barcala’s side travel to Eintracht Frankfurt in a top-of-the-table clash before the first international break of the season. Two weeks later, on Monday 19 October, Bayern bring Matchday 7 to a close with a first home match against VfB Stuttgart.