FC Bayern is experiencing an outstanding season. The women won 26 games in a row by April, three titles are possible. But then comes the end of the DFB Cup. Now the second title is also gone – and more trouble threatens. The Bayern bosses praise, but also put pressure.
FC Bayern does FC Bayern things. What can normally be seen as a guarantee of success looks a little different this season. All of a sudden, FC Bayern things are no longer necessarily the brand to be achieved. The men of the soccer department had achieved the optimum as six-time title winners last season. In these weeks, however, there is a problem. After the end of the DFB-Pokal – the second round was over against Holstein Kiel – the bankruptcy followed in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against last year’s final opponent Paris St. Germain. The very likely win of the German championship is only a small consolation. The ninth title in a row will certainly not trigger as great feelings as the first.
And now of all times the women in the club are doing it like the men. The end of the DFB Cup semi-final against opponents VfL Wolfsburg at the beginning of April is now followed by bankruptcy in the second leg of the semi-final of the Champions League. The Munich team had won the first leg 2-1, followed by a 4-1 defeat at Chelsea on Sunday. Coach Jens Scheuer’s team missed the final.
“The disappointment is of course huge. We had good opportunities to take the lead ourselves,” he said after the game. There were “too many individual mistakes” on his team. Nevertheless, Scheuer emphasized at the press conference: “That is not deserved at this height. We played a good game. Chelsea were not the better, but the more effective team.”
At halftime, the Londoners had equalized the first leg result. The game was then even, but Chelsea won more crucial scenes. The game was already approaching extra time when the former Wolfsburg Pernille Harder (84th) met and then Fran Kirby (90th + 5) completed. Final whistle, 4: 1. The Londoners prevented the second of three possible titles for Bayern.
Insane goal difference
This is even more remarkable with women than with men. Because on April 1st, the football world still believed the team was invincible. On that day just four weeks ago, FC Bayern had defeated Swedish club FC Rosengaard 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and thus achieved their 26th consecutive win across all competitions. With a goal difference of 104: 6 mind you. More superiority is not possible.
But then things came to a halt in Bavaria. First the cup, then a surprising 2: 3 bankruptcy in the Bundesliga against TSG Hoffenheim and now also the Champions League.
Club boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge nevertheless congratulated: “Reaching the semi-finals was a great achievement, we have only achieved that for the second time in women’s football – and we are all convinced that we will continue this success story.” He went on to say: “Now we are focusing on our big goal, the championship.”
The pressure is great
But even that, and with it the third possible title, is no longer certain since the Hoffenheim game: The eternal competitor VfL Wolfsburg has slipped down to two points. On Sunday (1 p.m.) there is a direct duel, which can bring a preliminary decision three game days before the end.
Bayern does not have much time to process the missed premier class final. They were last German champions in the 2015/2016 season – unlike the men, winning the title would be a very happy event. But the women’s series champion, VfL Wolfsburg won every season since 2016/17, threatens to spoil the third possible title. And with that, the goal set by club president Herbert Hainer: “It is our aim to be top international with our female soccer players and number 1 in Germany.” So the pressure is great. For FC Bayern things, a title according to your own requirements is mandatory.
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