Bayern Munich slogged through a 2-0 Champions League win over Juventus on a cold, rainy night in Turin. Both sides had shots aplenty and penalty shouts denied in a back-and-forth that truly could have gone either way, even with the Bavarians in the ascendancy for most of the match.
In the end, a fair result, punctuated by two excellent goals from Bayern’s Linda Dallmann and Pernille Harder.
A touch lacking in quality?
Whether it was match fatigue, the pouring rain, or the challenge posed by the home opposition, Bayern consistently failed to keep initiative today. Sloppy passes — especially into space; the number of Bayern giveaways was frankly shocking — wasteful counters, and tame shots. Both sides had their moments of chaos, needing to clear a ball that was pinballing around right in front of goal. Bayern just managed to get it done, while Juventus failed twice. That was the difference, but it shouldn’t have been.
Instead, Juve had plenty of chances to get into the game before Pernille Harder bundled home Bayern’s second. For a game where the Bavarians enjoyed about 70-30 edge in possession, the shot count tells the story: Bayern 18 (four on target), Juventus 17 (five on target). That’s way, way too close.
The result is what counts
Memories of last year’s late stage Champions League collapses are still fresh in everyone’s minds. That it didn’t happen this time..it has to count for something. Brutal weather, days after a tough Bundesliga loss at the weekend — it was not an easy task for the Bayern Frauen. They notched a UWCL win nonetheless and sit top of the group with six points.
It has to be said that this is “job done” and a positive to build on.
Bavarian midfield in focus
If there is one area where Bayern looks like it is in need of new ideas it is in the midfield. Sarah Zadrazil offers a physical presence and Georgia Stanway is a top-caliber player, but neither dealt with even a relatively soft Juventus press particularly well. The Bavarians could use a midfield metronome — a tempo-setter to receive in tight spaces, who can turn and carry as well as thread passes through the lines with accuracy. Stanway, today, was a mess of loose possession resulting in giveaways or clumsy fouls, and would probably be better higher up the pitch.
Can Germany’s No. 6, Lena Oberdorf, fill this role when she returns from injury? Hard to say — the former VfL Wolfsburg star will be coming off an ACL tear and we don’t know what the Bavarians are envisioning with her.
WOTM: Maria-Luisa Grohs
Tough one to give out as there were plenty of solid if not exceptional performances. Harder and Dallman scored the crucial goals but it is hard to ignore their less bright moments as well; Dallman being on the end of the hard tackle that might have resulted in a Juve penalty. The lack of stability in the midfield and forward ranks that resulted in wave after wave of Juve chances despite low possession spotlights the Bayern defense — and Glódis Perla Viggósdóttir was a rock at the back.
In the end, though, it fell on keeper Mala Grohs to make sure all of Bayern’s conceded chances did not lead to a single change in scoreline. Grohs kept her composure and the clean sheet, and even showed nice distribution on a few occasions with long balls from the back, completing as many of those (five, in fewer tries) as her entire backline. Well done, Mala.
Next: It’s a short turnaround as Bayern stay on the road to face Bayer Leverkusen. Kickoff on Sunday at 12:30 PM Eastern.
