Bayern Salvage Draw Against Freiburg

This article written by Matthew Coates

Giulia Gwinn surprisingly retained her place following the loss of a tooth after a stray elbow to the face of the Germany captain. It was also pleasing to see that 17 year-old German starlet Alara Şehitler retained her place in the starting XI, following a promising performance last time out.

The Bayern XI was as follows:

Mala Grohs (GK) – Giulia Gwinn, Glódís Viggósdóttir (c), Magdalena Eriksson, Carolin Simon – Sarah Zadrazil, Georgia Stanway – Linda Dallmann, Alara Şehitler, Klara Bühl, Pernille Harder

Sixth-placed Freiburg came into this game directly after a 3-0 loss to Wolfsburg. Table toppers Bayern, in a similar vein, were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt last time out. As a result, this matchup provided a chance for both teams to regain some form.

Sloppy First Half

Bayern began the game as the dominant side, having the vast majority of possession but creating few chances. The most notable coming in the eighth minute, following a lovely threaded through ball from Stanway in behind the Freiburg defence, but Dallman could only produce a tame shot that was collected by the keeper.

After ten minutes, the Freiburg midfield started obtaining some control, leading to a corner in the 16th minute. The original cross was comfortably cleared, but Freiburg retained possession through some good work by Eileen Campbell. She passed it to Cora Zicai who whipped a dangerous ball into the box that was stabbed away by Eriksson, but unfortunately straight into the path of Lisa Karl to poke home, 1-0.

Bayern almost responded instantly, after some good work by Bühl led to a first-time effort from Harder in the box that was unfortunately blazed over.

Both teams traded long-range efforts, as Bayern struggled to regain control of the match. An errant pass from Simon was intercepted by Annie Karich, who quickly passed to Freiburg striker Shekiera Martinez. She then fed Cora Zicai in space who struck home to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute.

Bayern continued to struggle to respond, as Grohs failed to meet a cross with a punch four minutes later, but was luckily there to claim the header that followed, which would have trickled into an empty net. 

In the 39th minute, Carolin Simon almost scored directly from a corner. She whipped in a ball that took Freiburg keeper Rafaela Borggräfe by surprise, but she claimed it whilst stood on her line. Moments later, Bayern created more danger with a Gwinn cross into the path of Harder, but unfortunately the shot was dragged wide.

In the 44th minute, Gwinn produced yet another dangerous cross, this time straight to the boot of Harder, but the volleyed effort went over. Gwinn could have scored moments later, as she was fed by Dallmann but the effort was well saved by the keeper.

In the dying moments of the first half, a long ball forward by Dallman behind the Freiburg defence was almost met by Harder, but some solid defending meant that the keeper could claim it once again.

Bayern will have to show a much better side in the second half to salvage something from the game.

Scrappy Second Half

There were no changes to the lineup to start the second half, and the first few moments of the half were unfortunately very similar to the first. Bayern struggled to maintain possession and Freiburg could create some half-chances.

Bayern needed some luck, and luckily for Straus, it came quickly. A Gwinn cross into the box in the 50th minute was spilled by the Freiburg keeper, and in the chaos that followed, Şehitler was there to poke home, 2-1. The Freiburg players were enraged at a supposed foul, but the goal stood.

Three minutes later, a clever low-hit corner from Simon caught the Freiburg defence off guard, but the resulting shot by Eriksson was deflected wide. Bayern were starting to regularly create chances.

Two changes for Bayern came in the 58th minute – Hansen replaced Eriksson who was forced off with an ankle injury, and Schüller came on for Dallmann. Moments later, a deep cross from Hansen missed Schüller and fell to Gwinn, whose effort was gathered by the keeper. 

With all the attacking pressure, Bayern left some space on the counter. A superbly-weighted pass from Zicai met the overlapping run from Gudorf, but her attempt was saved by Grohs.

In the 71st minute, the goalscorer Şehitler was replaced by summer signing Zigiotti. Another positive performance from the 17 year-old.

In the 78th minute, following a set piece, Schüller collided strongly with the Freiburg keeper, and it seemed that Schüller came off worse. She appeared to be in some distress and was promptly taken off, showing signs of a potential concussion, and was replaced by Zawistowska. Hopefully it is not as serious as it looked for the talented German striker.

Bayern’s attacking strategy seemed to shift in the final minutes, consisting of many long balls and deep crosses – a sign of desperation perhaps. Freiburg remained solid defensively, and Bayern struggled to create good chances.

However, Bayern’s persistence paid off. In the 91st minute, a deep freekick from Stanway was sent into the box, where Captain Viggósdóttir headed back into the centre of the box. The ball was picked up by the substitute Zawistowska, who controlled the ball and struck home, 2-2. It was her first goal for Bayern, following a summer transfer from Köln in 2023. She unfortunately missed the entirety of last campaign recovering from an ACL injury. It was an incredible moment for the 24 year-old.

Bayern had one more half-chance to potentially snatch the winner from a corner, but seemed reasonably happy to come away with a point in the circumstances.

Conclusions ahead of UWCL action

Bayern are now one point clear ahead of Wolfsburg, but as this was the first match, it is unlikely to stay that way. Bayern could feasibly drop down to fourth, but more realistically third after events this weekend.

Somewhat concerningly, Bayern have already conceded more goals in the league (10) than they did the entirety of last season (8). Similarly, they have also dropped more points (7) than last season (6). Whilst there are numerous reasons for the fall off, including the fact that it is an extremely tough act to follow, Straus will no doubt be analyzing what could be done to improve his side’s defensive performances. He will certainly be hoping to take the lessons provided by a tough week into UWCL action.

Despite the close situation domestically, the UWCL performances have so far been more positive for the Bavarian champions. Next up, Bayern play host to Vålerenga in the UWCL on Tuesday 12th November.