Bayern Munich 2 – 0 Bayer Leverkusen
By Catherine MacKenzie (6/9/25)
Above: Bayern celebrate. Photo: Sven Simon / IMAGO.
Last season’s Frauen Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich kicked off their title defence against Bayer Leverkusen in front of over 55,000 fans at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern had the advantage of a recent competitive game: their Supercup win against rivals Wolfsburg the previous weekend set the bar high. In new head coach José Barcala’s first game in charge, the Bavarians dominated their rivals in green, with goals from Stanway, Eriksson, Damnjanović and Schüller. It was brilliant attacking performance which gave Barcala his first piece of silverware at the Munich club. The boost from this win was buoyed by the fact that they would play their opening match of the league season at the Allianz Arena.
Over 50,000 tickets were sold, meaning the game would set a new record for women’s football in Germany (previously 38,365) and more than doubling Bayern’s record of 24,000).
For Leverkusen, their last competitive game was back in May, a 3-1 defeat to Wolfsburg in the league. Since then, they have played a number of friendly games including a 3-2 loss (again to Wolfsburg), a 0-0 draw against PSV, and a 1-0 win over Ajax. Roberto Pätzold led Leverkusen to a historic fourth-place finish last season – the highest in the club’s history. However, they were unable to overcome Bayern in either of their duels, falling 3-2 in Leverkusen and 2-0 in Munich.
The teams
With Germany captain and first-choice right-back Giulia Gwinn injured during the summer’s European Championships, 20-year-old Franziska Kett was given the start at right-back. Denmark international Pernille Harder was left on the bench, likely to support a phased return from injury. In her absence, Lea Schüller started up top, supported by Linda Dallman, Momoko Tanikawa and Jovana Damnjanović. Canadian Vanessa Gilles was given the nod at centre-back alongside Magdalena Eriksson, with Caro Simon on the right. For Leverkusen, new signing Vanessa Fudalla was given the nod up front alongside Cornelia Kramer, lining up in a 4-4-2 formation with England U23 international Ruby Grant in midfield.
The action
During the first half, neither team created many chances of note. Bayern looked toothless going forward: with Harder on the bench, the relationship between Damnjanović and Schüller was disjointed. Misjudged crosses in, neither picking out the other in the right spaces, and Leverkusen had plenty of time to interrupt Bayern’s attack. Whilst the Bavarians dominated the possession – over 60% in the opening half – they did little with it, and Leverkusen had the better chances, forcing Ena Mahmutovic into a couple of saves in the Bayern goal.
The momentum changed with the introduction of Klara Bühl after half-time, alongside some positional tweaks: Damnjanović was moved to a more natural central position which gave her more space to be creative. Defensively, Munich continued to look slightly disjointed; natural given the makeshift nature of their backline. Towards the mid-point of the half, Leverkusen had the ball in the back of the net after a good save from Mahmutovic was tapped in on the rebound, but the goal was chalked off for an obvious handball in the build-up.
Moments later, Damnjanović hit the bar, and the game opened up. Bayern had looked dangerous from set-pieces throughout the match, and it was a corner that Gilles put her head to for the opener. Munich doubled their lead minutes later, with Alara Şehitler sublimely winning the ball back in midfield, ending with Bühl shooting home from close range via a Damnjanović cross.
The latter stages of the game ebbed out with the main highlight being Lena Oberdorf making her long-awaited league debut for Bayern following her transfer over a year ago: as she entered the pitch, the Arena erupted with over 57,000 happy to finally see their ‘new’ player in action.
Where does this leave the teams?
Leverkusen will feel like they could – or even should – have left Munich with at least one point. In the first half, there were numerous opportunities to take advantage of Bayern’s toothlessness in front of goal and disorganisation at the back. However, chances were missed and Mahmutovic made two fine saves. Bayern will know that there is work to do, the fall in quality between the Supercup and Saturday clear to see. In front of goal is where the Bavarian team are in particular need of tweaking, however individual quality and a more cohesive setup with Damnjanović back in a central position were enough to see the game through.
Bayern travel to Leipzig on the 14th of September, where they will hope for another three points. Leverkusen await Union Berlin at home; a game which they will be expecting to lead to their first win of the season.
TEAMS: BAYERN MUNICH (4-2-3-1): Mahmutovic, Kett, Gilles, Eriksson, Simon, Zadrazil, Stanway, Dallmann, Tanikawa, Damnjanović, Schüller. Substitutes: Grohs, Hansen, Naschenweng, Pedersen, Caruso (for Damnjanović 84’), Şehitler (for Tanikawa 68’), Oberdorf (for Stanway 81’), Bühl (for Schüller 46’) , Harder (for Dallman 68’).
Scorers: Gilles 76’, Bühl 77’.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN (4-4-2): Abt, Mickenhagen, Turányi, Wenger, Wamser, Kögel, Piljić, Zdebel, Grant, Fudalla, Kramer. Substitutes: Voll, Friedrich, Gonzales (for Kramer 66’), Schwartze, Daedelow, Vidal (for Piljić 66’), Bartz (for Grant 66’), Madl (for Kögel 81’), Haim (for Fudalla 66’).
Attendance: 57,762
Referee: TBC
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