At the start of the new season, the FC Bayern footballers have… Champions League missed the desired victory. In the 2-2 (2-1) draw against Manchester City, the Munich team lost a 2-0 lead after a strange goal with blue pyrotechnic smoke. Bayern goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic initially saved a penalty from Khadija Shaw (62nd minute). But in Munich’s first competitive game at Sportpark Unterhaching, Carlotta Wamser (86th) scored to equalize for the English team in front of 4,291 spectators.
Coach José Barcala’s Bayern team got off to a great start in the duel between the German and English champions before the debatable 1-2 goal. After the early lead by Giulia Gwinn (11th minute) and an own goal by Kerstin Casparij (28th), Manchester came close again shortly before the break through Beth Mead (45th). The hit came after an attack on the right wing, where pyrotechnics had been thrown shortly before. The resulting blue smoke seemed to be irritating, and red smoke could also be seen on the sidelines.
Women’s football director criticizes referee
“For me, the game has to be interrupted, the pyrotechnics have been on the pitch for several seconds, players register it and have perhaps already switched off at that moment because the game has to be interrupted,” said Bianca Rech, director of women’s football, during the half-time break on ZDF. “Very strange and from my point of view the refereeing performance is simply not good.” The Spanish referee Olatz Rivero Olmedo removed the smoking pot from the pitch herself.
The missed victory will not change the high goals of the Munich team. After the first double in the club’s history last season, they now want to take the next step in Europe. The semi-finalists from the previous season will face FC Barcelona (home), Paris Saint-Germain (away), Real Madrid (H), Benfica Lisbon (A) and Austria Vienna (A) in the league phase.
“Very bright future”
The 18 teams each play six games against six different opponents in the league phase. The best four teams advance directly to the quarter-finals, and the teams in fifth to twelfth place contest the knockout phase playoffs in February.
The game will be played for the first time in Europe in the new venue south of Munich. In the long term, Unterhaching should be the home of women’s football FC Bayern be. “I think we have a very big future ahead of us here,” said Rech.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:260922-930-728521/1
