Bayern Munich were tested from the opening whistle in its final Frauen-Bundesliga match of the calendar year by Bayer Leverkusen, but ultimately prevailed 3-0 — a score that does not reflect the balance of the game.
Leverkusen’s opening salvos on Bayern’s goal went unrewarded thanks to sharp and brave goalkeeping from Bayern’s Ena Mahmutovic, and the Bavarians opened the game up on the other side through a brilliant turn-and-square from Jovana Damnjanović near the edge of the box and an equally brilliant long-distance
hit from the on-rushing Franziska Kett.
Bayern could not capitalize though, despite a penalty — won by Pernille Harder after a lung-busting run from Kett to track down a pass over the top — and ended the half 1-0. The Bavarians failed to bring a resurgence of energy in the second half, too, and the hosts got their chances to probe the Bayern defense.
Unfortunately, for all of Leverkusen’s positive spirit this was a match defined by penalties — particularly Bayern’s second, which the announcer in the DAZN broadcast characterized succinctly (quote going off memory) as “never a penalty, not even a foul and if it was a foul, it wasn’t even in the box.”
That was the back-breaker in more ways than one. Bayern had a bad run of penalties; Leverkusen keeper __ had already saved one, and the Bavarians were down yet another switch of taker. But Momoko Tanikawa stepped up to blast her shot with serious conviction into the top corner, a double-exclamation mark move of a spot kick and punctuating the win. To that point, Leverkusen had looked the more dangerous side in the second half and likely to equalize. After, the result was all but settled.
For good measure, Bayern added a third penalty late on a light but probably fair handball in the box. Georgia Stanway redeemed her past miss with a confident hit and Bayern would end the day 3-0 victors — a flattering scoreline, surely, but not an undeserved outcome. The result leaves the Bavarians on top of the table with a six-point cushion over VfL Wolfsburg, and a whopping 50-29 advantage in goal differential (the next-highest side, fourth-placed Hoffenheim, is at +10).
That’s all for 2025! Bayern’s men’s and women’s sides are on holiday now having turned in positive starts to the season. We’ll see what 2026 brings.
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