Update
She-Wolves cup winners again
FC Bayern suffers another terrible goalkeeping mistake
May 9, 2024, 5:58 p.m
The women’s DFB Cup winner is once again VfL Wolfsburg: for the tenth time in a row, the Wolves prevailed in the final. This time the record winners don’t give the German champions FC Bayern a chance and the Munich club experiences the next goalkeeping mistake after the men’s CL exit the day before.
The eternal cup queens around Alexandra Popp have destroyed Bayern Munich’s dream of the first women’s double. The record winners VfL Wolfsburg deservedly defeated the champions from Munich 2-0 (2-0) in the DFB Cup final and celebrated their tenth triumph in a row. After the men’s drama in Madrid the evening before, Herbert Hainer, Uli Hoeneß and Co. had to witness bitter déjà vu in the stands – another goalkeeper mistake!
Because Munich keeper Maria Luisa Grohs missed when national player Jule Brand (14th) scored from around 18 meters to give VfL the lead. Dominique Janssen (40th) increased Wolfsburg’s eleventh triumph in the favorite competition – VfL has been undefeated in 50 cup games. On the way to the desired changing of the guard, the Bayern women missed the greatest success in their club history and their second cup success after 2012.
“We didn’t play a good season, but what the team brought to the pitch was VfL Wolfsburg, that was the DFB Cup and that is the title,” said Alexandra Popp on ZDF: “Now Cologne is being torn apart, It’s going to be extremely celebrated, we deserve it.” For Bayern’s Klara Bühl, however, the disappointment was “huge”. The team “imagined everything differently, we slept through the first half, were always a step too late, couldn’t win the duels. You can’t survive like that.”
44,400 spectators in the sold-out Cologne stadium, including Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf, saw an energetic duel. Both teams looked for a way forward in front of the atmospheric backdrop, but the courageous Wolves gained the better momentum with clever pressing and a lot of dynamism.
Bayern goalkeeper makes a mistake, Wolfsburg does better
“Wherever FC Bayern competes in professional sport, it wants to be at the top,” Bayern President Hainer emphasized on Sky before kick-off. The importance of the showdown was underlined by the celebrities gathered around Honorary President Hoeneß in the stands, who had already had to digest a momentous mistake by national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the men’s 1-2 defeat in the Champions League semi-final at Real Madrid the evening before.
VfL coach Tommy Stroot, who had recovered from a flu-like infection, left his defense chief Marina Hegering on the bench at the start, and she was substituted on in the 81st minute. The 34-year-old injured her calf in the 4-0 league defeat against Munich in March. On the other hand, five days after successfully defending their title in the championship, coach Alexander Straus made full use of the offensive.
But after falling behind early on, Bayern, who were undefeated in the Bundesliga, showed nerves. The future Munich player Lena Oberdorf (23rd) tested Grohs, the celebrated hero in the penalty thriller in the semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, with a powerful left-footed shot. But this time the keeper was there.
Nine minutes later, Oberdorf, who played strongly, made it 2-0 again. The Dutchwoman Janssen aimed better with a header from a corner from Svenja Huth shortly before half-time. After the break, the Munich team increased their offensive efforts with the courage of desperation. DFB goal scorer Lea Schüller (58th) tested Merle Frohms with a header after a corner, but the national goalkeeper parried Bayern’s best chance with a classy reflex.