Bayern Munich v Benfica Lisbon: Munich’s last chance to win the group
Even though FC Bayern Munich have already qualified for the round of 16 in the UEFA Women’s Champions League before their last group match against Benfica Lisbon, there is still a small chance they could win group.
Bayern Munich with chance to surpass Barcelona
Currently, FC Barcelona, who Bayern surprisingly defeated in front of a record breaking crowd at the Allianz Arena a fortnight ago, are in first place in Group D. They are leading with a goal difference of +17 (23 for, 6 against) – twelve goals more than the Munich team.
The Munich team would only be able to jump to first place in the table if they beat Benfica and the Catalans would draw or lose against last-place Rosengard. It is unlikely, but not impossible.
If this were to happen Bayern would likely avoid a more difficult opponent in the next round.
Benfica want revenge
However, Benfica will also want to be on their best performance level in their last Champions League match of the season. In the first leg, the Portuguese managed to make the game very difficult for FCB for long stretches. Despite taking a two goal lead they eventually succumbed to a 3-2 defeat.
Bayern Munich do not want to show any weakness in the last game before the winter break. “We are not resting, we want to show how good we are and end the year with the best feeling,” midfielder Georgia Stanway stressed at the pre-match press conference. She was also the match-winner in the first leg in Lisbon (3-2), when the Englishwoman played a decisive role in her team’s victory with two goals.
However, the Bavarians will have to do without one of their most important players, Lina Magull. The Bayern captain is out due to an injury picked up last week. Linda Dallmann also has to take a break due to an injury.
But there is also positive news for FC Bayern: Maximiliane Rall and Karolina Vilhjamsdottir both return to the squad. The two defenders are expected to strengthen the Bayern defence. Rall trained with a face mask before the match, as she had broken her nose after an elbow crash in the game against Barcelona.
High work load becomes pressing issues
Bayern manager Alexander Straus also spoke about injuries during the press conference. Only on Monday, another serious injury was announced – this time to Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal FC. She thus joined a long list of seriously injured players in Europe’s top leagues.
Players’ high work load has been discussed a lot due to the large number of injuries.
“It’s an issue that needs to be addressed. We have to put the players in the foreground, we have to protect them,” Straus explained. With Giulia Gwinn, Bayern also have a player affected by an ACL injury within the team. In addition, Hanna Glas and Jovana Damnjanović are also currently unavailable.
Especially in view of the “crazy” second half of the season, as Straus puts it, a fit and injury-free squad will be enormously important.
