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Almuth Schult held everything there was to keep against FC Bayern
Photo: Ulrich Wagner / imago images / Ulrich Wagner
The scene of the game: It is
exciting this year in the women's Bundesliga, so exciting that it only took one goal to make the runners-up from Wolfsburg, who traveled to Munich for the top match for champions FC Bayern, in third place in the table catapult to one. The goal was then scored by someone who is not known for their goal danger - but at least for knowing their way around the Bayern campus: Ex-Munich Kathrin Hendrich headed the ball over the line (69th minute), teammate Tabea Waßmuth had previously hit the bar in the same way.
The result:
VfL prevailed 1-0 (0-0) against the Munich team, a reasonably close result in a balanced top game. With 19 points, Wolfsburg is now one point ahead of their big rivals after the eighth game day.
The first half:
Traditionally, supremacy in German women's football has always been negotiated in recent years when FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg met - last year in favor of the Munich women, who needed a win and a draw from the direct duels Got points for the title. The guests from Wolfsburg performed with a sense of security, opportunities were rare. It was only towards the end of the first 45 minutes that the Munich team turned up: Linda Dallmann put the first chance right next to the post (33rd), before Jovana Damnjanović with two huge opportunities, first at the back of the head (39th), then in a one-on-one (43th) .) failed because of the overwhelmingly reactive Almuth Schult.
Tried and tested quality:
After an eventful years, VfL goalkeeper Schult is gradually returning to everyday sporting life: the national player survived a protracted shoulder injury on the one hand, and gave birth to twins last year on the other (and, incidentally, in the European Championship -Summer excelled as a TV expert). Schult is back in Wolfsburg, top performer and leading player - but her last appearance in the DFB jersey was two years ago.
Praise from the top:
After all: Schult was allowed to audition for even higher tasks. National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg followed the game, which was not too narrowly peppered with national players, in a good mood and wrote hard, while goalkeeping coach Michael Fuchs also kept an eye on the events from the stands. During the break from Bayerischer Rundfunk, Schult, who had to face the competition with the seeded Merle Frohms (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Ann-Katrin Berger (FC Chelsea), even received a little special praise: I saw Damnjanović's header »in it ", Explained Voss-Tecklenburg. In any case, Schult is a "stabilizer" and "also a good coach" for those in front of her. Even for the national coach, it will not be easy to get past Schult in this condition.
The second half:
After the break, the Wolfsburg outfield players suddenly seemed to get a feeling that you don't have to put up with everything from Bayern. For the first time in the game there were attacks played to the end by VfL, more than just holding back in midfield, but real relief. After Hendrich's opening goal, the game was more similar to that of the first half, but Schult was also up against Dallmann (80th) and Giulia Gwinn (90th + 1).
Duel? Triathlon? Sixth fight ?:
In the table, the Wolfsburg women now have an advantage due to the narrow victory, but by no means a cushion. Equally on points with FC Bayern in third place, the surprisingly strong Frankfurt women keep up with the leaders, Hoffenheim, Leverkusen and Potsdam each have a game up their sleeve and can also slide into the top group. Voss-Tecklenburg is delighted: "For us as the coaching team of the women's national team, this means that we have so many high-quality games."
Well filled calendar:
The question remains whether the Bundesliga, which is financially modest in international comparison, can keep up with the steadily rising level at a European level.
FC Bayern Munich can provide answers on Wednesday (9 p.m., DAZN) in the Champions League against record winner Olympique Lyon, VfL Wolfsburg will be in action at Juventus Turin on Thursday (6.45 p.m., DAZN).
