Bayern Munich maintained its perfect start to the Frauen-Bundesliga season so far with a narrow 1-0 win over FC Köln on Saturday.
For a team sitting second to bottom of the table, it was a solid performance for the Köln visitors and perhaps not the most inspiring of displays from the defending champions heading into the season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League opener vs. Arsenal FC this week.
Samantha Kerr, Sydney Lohmann, Carolin Simon, and Jovana Damnjanović all started as Lea Schüller led the line for the Bavarians. Both Schüller and Damnjanović had good chances that went wide in the first 20’, and Damnjanović offered a fruitless penalty shout after a slick turn and drive in the box resulted in a jumble of legs and a tumble to the turf. But the match remained scoreless through the first half.
Köln set up a golden chance early in the second half through Taylor Ziemer, whose tough dribbling inside the box resulted in a ball laid on a platter for teammate Dóra Zeller — but the Hungarian international blazed her shot over the bar.
Misses like that paved the way for an eventual Bayern breakthrough. It was another moment of individual brilliance, this time from Klara Bühl. The Bayern winger won the ball in an aerial contest, took a few touches, and fired home from outside the box into the bottom corner. 1-0 to Bayern — now on to the UWCL.
