Bayern Munich drew 2-2 on the road against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday in a UEFA Women’s Champions League match that leaves them sixth in the standings after five matchdays, level on points with Juventus
and Real Madrid but behind in goal differential.
Barcelona, Lyon, and Chelsea lead the pack; only the first four teams qualify automatically to the quarterfinals.
In Madrid, Bayern looked the stronger side, but got off to a horrendous start. Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir was called for a penalty for what looked to be fairly incidental contact with her elbow as she jostled with an attacker in the box, and the visitors found themselves in a hole inside of 15 minutes as a result.
The fight-back was there, though, and though the half ended 1-0 it eventually paid dividends. Klara Bühl connected with Pernille Harder twice, two stars of the game flexing their muscle for FC Bayern. The first saw Harder turn nimbly and fire into the net (off a deflection) with three defenders closing in in front of her. The second was typical Bühl, marauding down the left flank to receive a ball in acres of space somehow, jinking past her marker and fizzing a ball across the face of goal for Harder to latch onto.
This after Bayern earned their own penalty at the start of the second half, back when the score was still 1-0, and Giulia Gwinn blazed over the bar. The chance to make this more decisive, while Bayern held the upper hand, was there.
Gwinn’s penalty miss would prove costly, and so would Bayern’s loosening grip on the game. After Harder’s 78th-minute would-be winner, the Bavarians found themselves pinned back as they tried to secure the win. There were seven players deep in Bayern’s box when Atlético winger Luany cut back to the top of the 18, where Fiamma Benítez arrived, unmarked and un-hassled, to hit a thundering strike that banked in off the inside of the crossbar.
FCBayern.com captured player and coach reactions after the match.
Said head coach José Barcala: “The early goal against us certainly had an emotional impact, but we reacted well. We were very dominant and pushed the opponent deep into their own half. But Atlético was very compact between the lines and made it very difficult for us. After halftime, we shifted the game more to the flanks and turned the game around. Unfortunately, after taking the lead, we allowed too much space and conceded another goal.”
“Disappointed, but learning from this game,” added midfielder Arianna Caruso.
The Frauen are back in action on Sunday against Hamburger SV — also their next DFB-Pokal opponents, though this time it is a league match. Then it’s back to the Champions League with a home match against Vålerenga next week, before finishing off the first half of the season at Leverkusen.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
