Master misses opening victory
Freiburg shocked FC Bayern in the 97th minute
September 15, 2023, 8:52 p.m
The German soccer champions FC Bayern start the new Bundesliga season without a win – and they even took the lead in stoppage time in the second half. But a substitute secured the point for SC Freiburg in the last minute.
Joker Svenja Fölmli spoiled defending champion FC Bayern Munich’s opening win in the 34th season of the women’s Bundesliga very late on. The Freiburg player scored in stoppage time (90+7th minute) in the atmospheric opening game for the local SC to make it 2-2 (1-1). Munich had previously won ten times in a row against SC.
In front of 13,234 spectators in the Dreisamstadion, Janina Minge (6th) put the host DFB Cup finalists in the lead. A back pass from Glodis Viggosdottir landed in the feet of Cora Zicai, whose shot hit the post, but Minge scored the follow-up and scored the first goal of the season. Goal scorer Lea Schüller (21′) equalized, Katharina Naschenweng gave Bayern the late lead (90’+1). In the end, coach Alexander Straus’ somewhat unimaginative team mourned, but the strong Freiburg women celebrated a deserved point.
National player Giulia Gwinn, who did not take part in the World Cup when the German team was eliminated in the preliminary round in Australia, made her competitive comeback eleven months after her second cruciate ligament tear. The defender is also in the DFB squad for the two Nations League games next Friday in Denmark and on September 26th against Iceland. Bayern’s starting eleven also included the rather inconspicuous Dane Pernille Harder, who came from Chelsea together with Magdalena Eriksson.
Theresa Merk’s SC team, who is the only female head coach in the league, benefited from a back pass from Bayern captain Glodis Viggosdottir that was too short to take the lead. The Munich women mostly dominated the game and equalized through Vice European Champion Schüller. However, the Freiburg women appeared increasingly cheeky and had a shot on the post through Marie Müller.
After the break, the Bayern women continued to apply pressure, but they lacked precision for a long time in the final third. But then Naschenweng scored after Schüller’s shot off the post before the Freiburg fans and team cheered loudly. Fölmli scored with the very last action to make it 2-2. Bayern challenger and Champions League finalist VfL Wolfsburg plays its first game on Sunday at 4 p.m. against Bayer Leverkusen.