FCB Women celebrate hard-fought win against PSG

• Harder forces own goal, Bühl on target
• Still unbeaten in this Champions League season
• On course for quarter-final qualification

FC Bayern Women celebrated a brilliant 2-1 victory at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday evening as they took the next step towards direct qualification for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Munich took the lead with a clever finish from Pernille Harder, which drew an own goal from Paris goalkeeper Katarzyna Kiedrzynek in the 29th minute. Klara Bühl made it 2-0 shortly before half-time. Paulina Dudek reduced the deficit from the penalty spot in the 65th minute, but 2-1 was how it finished.

Eriksson: ‘Extremely important points’

“This win is so important. We’ve had so many tight games where we’ve been frustrated by the result. It was really hard for us tonight, but in the end we withstood the pressure and picked up a very important win. Those were extremely important points for us today. Now we want to get another three points against Austria Wien and then we’ll look ahead to Barcelona.”

Kett: ‘We want to finish in the top four’

“We played very good football, particularly in the first half. It got a bit scrappy at the end with their goal, but we saw it over the line and in the Champions League it’s only the three points that count. We want to finish in the top four and we need to win the next two matches to do that.”

Bühl: ‘We passed the test’

“We’re very happy to come away with the three points today. It was quite a scrappy game. We deserved to win but Paris made it hard for us. The three points will be very important for us. Obviously the penalty changed the dynamic of the game a bit, but we also showed towards the end that we can manage games and shut up shop. We played some very good football and were rewarded for it, especially in the first half. It was certainly a test and we passed it.”

Mahmutovic: ‘We deserved to win’

“It was a more unrewarding game for me because I didn’t have that much to do in goal. But we played well, especially in the first half, and also deserved to win in the end. We could’ve put it to bed earlier.”

Harder brilliance puts Bayern in control

In pouring rain in the French capital, it took just eight minutes for the first moment of drama. Bühl’s cut-back from the byline was blocked by the hand of a PSG defender, but after review by the video assistant, an offside call in the build-up was determined. In the 12th minute, there was a let-off for both sides as a deflected cross from the hosts landed on the crossbar of Ena Mahmutovic’s goal, before Franziska Kett’s cross found Harder lurking at the far post, but she was put off as she took the shot.

FCB Women increasingly took control as the game went on and Bühl had the best chance up to that point in the 17th minute, when her effort from a central position sailed just over. The next big opportunity was only four minutes in coming: again it came from a quick move down the left, where Kett found Harder. However, the Dane’s shot in the penalty area was crucially deflected the wrong side of the goal by Mbock Bathy.

The visitors were well on top now and subsequently took the lead on 29 minutes. Harder appeared to have knocked the ball too far ahead on the right side but managed to keep it in play. With another touch she turned towards the six-yard box, but instead of passing to Linda Dallmann, she cleverly hit the ball straight at the unsuspecting PSG goalkeeper Kiedrzynek, who diverted the ball into her own goal.

The Parisians weren’t deterred by going behind, though, and then began to play more and more in the Munich half, albeit without being able to break down a solid defence. As the hosts upped the pressure towards the end of the first half, Bayern struck in clinical fashion and made it 2-0 before the break. Momoko Tanikawa won the ball in midfield and immediately gave it to Harder, who played in Bühl with a perfect through ball. The Germany international made no mistake and buried the ball with her first touch from 15 metres.

Hard-fought second half

PSG came out for the second half with urgency and had the first effort on goal, but Merveille Kanjinga’s shot on the turn was well off target. Bühl went closer minutes later and forced Kiedrzynek into a brilliant save from Tanikawa’s pass. Ten minutes later, VAR intervened again and after reviewing a handball by Dallmann, referee Frida Klarlund awarded a penalty to the hosts, which Dudek converted to make it 2-1.

That goal shifted the momentum towards the Parisians but despite several situations in and around the Munich penalty area, the defence stood firm and blocked every shooting attempt. With play shifting back into the midfield, the Bavarians thought they’d scored a third in the 83rd minute but Dallmann was offside when she struck from Harder’s pass. PSG had one last big chance to equalise right at the death, but a cross missed Elimbi Gilbert by centimetres and Bayern held on for a 2-1 away win, which temporarily moves them up to second in the table.

Top-of-the-table clash in Wolfsburg and first trip to Vienna

The German champions face another big game on Saturday 14 November in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. In the headline fixture of Matchday 10, José Barcala’s side visit nearest challengers VfL Wolfsburg (kick-off 17:55 CET). The following Thursday, the Munich girls meet Austria Wien competitively for the first time on the penultimate matchday of the Champions League league phase.