Bayern-Women also beats up on Köln

After winning the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup, the women’s Bundesliga was on the agenda again on Sunday. But it wasn’t just the victory that the Bayern team took away from Köln. Because their return flight had been cancelled due to the bad weather conditions, they began their journey home on the Effzeh’s team bus.

In case you missed it

Tom Wörle relied on the same starting team in Cologne as he did against 1. FC Saarbrücken. Unlike in the cup match, this time the Reds did not need a wake-up call, but took the reins from the very first second. The Bavarians built up enormous pressure very early on, so that the Cologners hardly got into the game. After a few initial chances worth seeing, Fridolina Rolfö was able to exploit an entry by Nicole Rolser for 0:1 (11.). Shortly afterwards Carina Wenninger was on the spot with a volley drop and scored 0:2 (14.).

After a good half an hour, Lidija Kuliš was the last player left and was forced to bring down Sara Däbritz, leaving the referee no choice but to expel her (32nd). The captain Melanie Behringer then scored the spot kick to make it 0:3. Shortly before the break Rolfö scored 0:4 and then Däbritz increased from 18 meters with a nice curl up into the far corner to make it 0:5.

Immediately after the restart Jill Roord showed her skills and outplayed the Köln goalkeeper for 0:6 (47.). Over the course of the match, the Bayern women created a large number of opportunities, relying above all on sharp flanks from the outside. Behringer punished a serious mistake of the opponent’s goalkeeper by long-range shot to 0:7 (80.). The final goal of the lopsided victory was scored by defender Leonie Maier, who hit the ball perfectly from a good 20 metres to hit the crossbar and from there into the goal.

Patrick has all the goals clipped together

The @FCBfrauen celebrated a goal festival against 1. FC Köln, with a 8-0 away victory. @FridolinaRolfo opened the scoring, assisted by @NRolser. #KOEFCB #AFBL pic.twitter.com/CTRHhZUCTj

— Patrick (@RatedRHero) 19. März 2018

Three things we noticed

1. Identical starting eleven? It has only happened once this season

For the second time in the season Tom Wörle trusted the same starting formation as in the previous competitive game. Only the first two matchdays of the season saw the same starting eleven on the pitch. On the one hand, this is probably due to the many injuries. On the other hand, there was little reason to change the team after the big Pokal win on Tuesday. Especially those who were not first choice before – whether due to injuries or the great competition in the squad – were able to make great impressions on Tuesday and confirm their performance on Sunday.

Once again, the standards were set by various players. However, captain Behringer was able to demonstrate convincingly why promising free kicks rightly remain a matter for the boss and thus in her sphere of responsibility. But especially the flexibility in indirect free kicks and corners shows that the women worked a lot on their skills in the training camp.

2. Kristin Demann – controlled defense

Many people regarded Kristin Demann as the headline transfer of last summer, especially after her strong European Championship. She quickly lived up to her praise with good performances on the pitch. However, a severe shoulder injury slowed down the excellent start to the season of the ex-Hoffenheimer. Since her return, the Bayern defence has been even more stable, as Demann in particular radiates a strong sense of security and consistency. Her eye for the open woman also helps to make the game of the Bavarians faster and more dynamic from behind. The fact that after her comeback she has returned to her early form so seamlessly, where others often still need time and practice to get fit for the matches, could be of enormous value to the Reds on their way to the Champions League.

3. Leonie Maier – the fighter

Like in the first half of the season, Leonie Maier was back on the bench at the beginning of the second half – without any minutes of action in the first two games against Essen and Freiburg. Not an easy situation for any player. Especially not for someone who works as hard on themselves as the native Stuttgarter. At the She-Believes Cup in the USA, too, she was only used in the first game for Germany and from then on was relegated to the bench. In the cup match against Saarbrücken, Wörle placed his trust in her again – and should not be disappointed at all.

Her feel for the ball, her overview of the game and the mostly precise crosses contributed a lot to her success against Saarbrücken. In the match against Köln, too, she kept reappearing at the front, convincing in one-on-one situations and once again putting strong crosses into the center. With this performance Maier forced herself into a firm place in the starting eleven. Instead of showing uncertainty, she proved that she is one of those fighters who never give up. Her strong performance was crowned by a remarkable goal to the final score of 0:8.

Köln – Bayern
Köln	Kremer – Hild, Kirschbaum, Frommont, Kuliš – Linden (46. Fürst, 69. Vinken), Arnold, Nietgen – Schraa (83. Schraa), Hearn, Kohr
Bayern	Zinsberger – Faißt (64. Beerensteyn), Wenninger (77. Škorvánková), Demann, Maier – Rolfö, Leupolz, Roord, Behringer, Däbritz – Rolser (67. Islacker)
Bench	Weimar, Lewandowski, Georges, Schnaderbeck
Goals	0:1 Rolfö (11.), 0:2 Wenninger (14.), 0:3 Behringer (33.), 0:4 Rolfö (44.), 0:5 Däbritz (45.), 0:6 Roord (47.), 0:7 Behringer (80.), 0:8 Maier (85.)
Cards	Red: Kuliš (76.) / –
Referees	Fabienne Michel (Gau-Odernheim), Anne Uersfeld (Mainz), Franziska Erkes (Korschenbroich)
Attendance	495