FCB Women up to second with victory at Hoffenheim

FC Bayern Women are up to second in the FLYERALARM Bundesliga after a 4-0 win away at Hoffenheim on Friday evening. Maximiliane Rall gave Alexander Straus’s side a first-half lead in front of a crowd of 2,925 at the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion. A goal from Linda Dallmann and brace from substitute Lea Schüller in the second half guaranteed the victory, taking Bayern onto 22 points and up second at least overnight. Eintracht Frankfurt (20 points) could dislodge them if they win against leaders Wolfsburg (24 points) on Saturday.

Rall: “Pressure from the start”

“We applied a lot of pressure from the start and created a number of chances,” Rall said after the game. “Unfortunately, we originally missed out on adding a second goal, so Hoffenheim were able to gather momentum again. Then we made it 2-0 at a good time and were then on course for victory.”

Two changes, one milestone

Straus made two changes from the side that started last weekend’s 2-0 win at home to Essen. Georgia Stanway came back into midfield for Saki Kumagai after serving her one-match suspension for accumulation of yellow cards. Dallmann also started in place of Schüller. Sydney Lohmann made her 100th competitive appearance for Bayern.

Strong start

Bayern got off to a bold start and pushed the hosts back into their own half. Dallmann tested TSG goalkeeper Martina Tufekovic with an effort from range just seconds after kick-off. There was then nothing she could do when ex-Hoffenheim defender Rall nodded in a Carolin Simon cross at the far post after just six minutes.

No second goal yet

The visitors from Munich remained the team in the ascendency even after that. Dallmann again tried her luck from distance but was again denied by Tufekovic. However, Bayern continued to push for that second goal. A deflected effort from Lohmann went just wide of the post as FCB failed to pull clear despite a string of promising chances.

Commanding second half

Things followed a similar pattern after the restart. A shot from captain Lina Magull found the back of the net on 52 minutes but it was ruled out for offside. However, the hosts started to play their way into the game as time wore on. Ex-Bayern forward Gia Corley in particular seemed to get Hoffenheim going after her introduction, with goalkeeper Maria Luisa Grohs producing a good save to deny Ereleta Memeti a potential equaliser on the hour mark. Just two minutes later, though, Dallmann finally made it 2-0 when finishing off a counter from Klara Bühl delivery to the far post. Shortly after coming on, Schüller added a third from another Bühl provision. She then bagged her brace in the dying moments to round off a 4-0 win.

Home games against Barcelona and Leverkusen

In five days, the Frauen will take to the field at the Allianz Arena when they host Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday, 7 December. That kicks off at 21:00 CET and there are still tickets available. Straus and his team then take on Bayer Leverkusen at the FC Bayern Campus in the Bundesliga on Saturday, 10 December at 14:00.