FC Bayern started their European campaign with a 2-2 draw against Manchester City. Goals inside the first half-hour helped the hosts to an early lead before a difficult second-half for them.
Bayern created the first big chance inside five minutes as Klara Bühl failed to hit the target after Guila Gwinn‘s pinpoint delivery. The positive start from the hosts continued with Ayaka Yamashita making her first save from Pernille Harder‘s weak effort.
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And their efforts were rewarded in the tenth minute with Gwinn getting at the end of Linda Dallmann‘s weighted pass before unleashing it home with a powerful strike. The freshly crowned Germany Women’s Footballer of the Year already had three direct goal involvements in as many Frauen-Bundesliga appearances this season from the fullback position.
Bühl and Jovana Damnjanović had the next big chances, while Manchester City’s striker Khadija Shaw had a frustrating half at the other end. Seconds after the Jamaican international’s first attempt of the game from set-piece play, Kerstin Casparij scored in the wrong net.
The Dutch defender beat Yamashita from her desperate attempt to clear Harder’s delivery from the same flank that produced Bayern’s first goal. Before the half-time break, Momoko Tanikawa nearly extended the lead from Bühl’s corner-kick.
The WSL champions boosted their comeback hopes in injury-time of first-half as Beth Mead halved the deficit after Shaw’s blocked attempt. The goal stood although a flare was thrown to the pitch from the Bayern section while Casparij created the opportunity from the right flank.
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Bayern regained momentum after the break, but they struggled to create clear-cut chances. Instead, Man City had a chance to equalize in the hour-mark when Ena Mahmutovic brought down Aoba Fujino inside the box.
However, Bayern’s goalkeeper made amends for it with a superb save to deny Bunny Shaw from 12 yards. Manchester City continued to push for an equalizer as José Barcala decided to strengthen his midfield with the introduction of Sarah Zadrazil, who missed the majority of last season due to a knee injury.
Manchester City got their reward with less than five minutes left on the regular time. Carlotta Wamser was unmarked inside the box as she unleashed an unstoppable shot to level the score. The German international joined the England champions from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
Substitute Edna Imade had a glorious chance to win it for Bayern with the last kick of the game, but she couldn’t find the target with a free header.
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Bayern will face 2. Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach in the first round of the DFB-Pokal Frauen on Sunday before a trip to Lisbon for their first Champions League away fixture of the season against Benfica.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
