Bayern Forced to Settle for Draw At Vålerenga

This article written by Matthew Coates

Alex Straus’ made two changes from the weekend as Giulia Gwinn and Sarah Zadrazil both returned to the starting XI after their well deserved rest last time out, replacing Carolin Simon and Julia Zigiotti respectively. Meanwhile, Ena Mahmutovic made her UWCL debut.

As some players are now beginning to return from injury, Straus was able to name a bench filled with depth and quality. This included 20 year old goalkeeper Juliane Schmid, who has been drafted in as Bayern’s third choice keeper due to the absence of Mala Grohs.

The Bayern XI was as follows:

Ena Mahmutovic (GK) – Giulia Gwinn, Glódís Viggósdóttir (c), Linda Sembrant, Tuva Hansen – Sarah Zadrazil, Georgia Stanway – Linda Dallmann, Weronika Zawistowska, Klara Bühl, Pernille Harder

Bayern had won all three group games before this clash, which included beating Vålerenga 3-0 last week. Between that match, Vålerenga drew against 4th placed LSK in their final league match of the season, concluding an extremely dominant league campaign.

Tense First Half

Bayern started with the vast majority of possession, yet created their first chance in the 12th minute. A lovely dummy by Zawistowska on the wing created space for her to put in a dangerous cross to the back post, but Harder was unable to produce clean contact and the ball was gathered by the keeper.

Vålerenga created their first chance in the 17th minute. Karina Sævik picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and then threaded a delicate pass through Bayern’s defence and into the path of Emma Stølen Godø. She struck the ball into Mahmutovic, who did well to rush out and close down the angle. The ball spun off Mahmutovic into a wide position, where Stølen Godø was stopped once more, this time by a sliding Gwinn who prevented the ball from rolling into an empty net.

Some warning signs of what Vålerenga are capable of. The resulting corners carried some threat, but Bayern were eventually able to clear their lines.

Vålerenga grew into the game after this, and began to establish decent spells of possession. Neither team however, were able to consistently create chances.

Stanway picked up a yellow in the 31st minute for a tactical foul. Whilst not out of character for her, it accurately described the tension between the two sides. Bayern were being cautious to limit chances.

In the 37th minute, some intricate play by Bühl led to Harder having acres of space in the box, but her subsequent cross was hacked away by a defender before Dallman could convert.

The game continued to be held on a knife’s edge, and the game fizzled out with plenty of work to do for the Bavarians.

Nervy Second Half

Moments after play resumed, Harder played Dallman behind the defence, but her first touch was uncharacteristically heavy and the goalkeeper was able to gather.

Dallman was on the end of another decent chance in the 54th minute; a long ball by Sembrant in behind the defence was hit first time, but the keeper was able to save at the near post.

Moments later, a loose ball was picked up by Linn Vickius, and the ball was quickly played through to Olaug Tvedten. Her strike was deflected by the fingertips of Mahmutovic onto the post, and the ball bounced agonisingly across the goal line and hit the other post. Bayern were able to clear, but got away with one there.

In the 59th, a quick break by Bayern meant that Zawistowska was in space, but her shot was pushed just wide of the post.

It took until the 64th for Bayern’s first substitutions; Damnjanović and Şehitler replaced Dallmann and Zawistowska. In coming on, Damnjanović made her 150th appearance for Bayern.

Damnjanović provided a real box threat for Bayern, and that would be crucial for the opener. In the 75th minute, Harder threaded a ball in behind for Gwinn, who pulled it back for Damnjanović who was able to convert from close range, 0-1. 

Bayern made two more changes in the 82nd minute; Schüller and Zigiotti replaced Harder and Stanway. The change of Stanway surely to minimise risk of being sent off after that early yellow card.

A Vålerenga corner in the 87th minute struck the crossbar in yet another nervy moment for Bayern defensively. The following rebound was deflected wide for another corner. This one was headed on by Emma Stølen Godø into the centre of the box, where Elise Thorsnes rose highest and headed it into the net, 1-1. 

In the 92nd minute, a Bühl cross met the head of Schüller, but she couldn’t produce the required power to trouble the keeper. A final opportunity for Bayern came moments later, but it was squandered by a poor cross from Bühl that went behind for a goal kick. A disappointing end to a tense encounter.

Final Match Before Another International Break

With Arsenal’s win later on, Bayern have guaranteed their passage through to the quarterfinals. They also remain top of the group being one point ahead of second placed Arsenal which provides a light to an otherwise lackluster performance.

A win for Bayern in this fixture would not have been ‘lucky’; they proved the more dominant side over the 90 minutes. However, they also cannot look at this and conclude they were unlucky to leave with just a point.

Bayern occasionally looked a little toothless in front of goal and could not convert their dominance of possession into chances. This could be due to fatigue: at times the players looked dead on their feet, which on occasion led to dangerous opportunities for the Norwegian champions. 

Mahmutovic put in a great performance, saving Bayern on a number of occasions. On top of that, Vålerenga proved to be stubborn defensively throughout and fought hard for their first ever point in the competition.

Bayern’s attention will now shift to the final game before the international break, a clash against Freiburg in the Pokal, and the winner will progress to the quarterfinals. Having lost the final against Wolfsburg last year, Bayern will be hoping to go one better this season. However Freiburg, especially away, is a difficult fixture as Bayern have already proven this season with a disappointing 2-2 draw earlier this month.

A positive result in this fixture would renew some optimism going into the international break, which could be important when looking ahead to Bayern’s final four fixtures before the Winter Break. Next up, Bayern travel to Freiburg for a R16 Pokal clash on Sunday 24th November.