Fresh from reaching the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-finals by beating Manchester United during the week, FC Bayern Women are now out to book their place in the final of this season’s DFB Cup. Essen are the opponents at the FC Bayern Campus in Monday’s semi-final (15:30 CEST). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our preview.
Latest news from Bayern
The DFB Cup holders advanced to the final four thanks to a 3-0 win away at Hamburg in March’s quarter-final. Edna Imade, Franziska Kett and Natalia Padilla Bidas got the goals at the Volksparkstadion.
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It isn’t just in Germany’s cup where Bayern are among the best four teams. They are also into the semi-finals of the Champions League after a 2-1 win over Manchester United in front of 25,000 at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. Coupled with the 3-2 victory in England the previous week, it took them through to the semis, where Glódís Viggósdóttir and her team will now take on Barcelona.
Opponent: Essen
Essen eliminated last season’s runners-up Werder Bremen in the quarter-finals thanks to Ella Touon’s 43rd-minute goal at home. It was their first win in any competition since the start of December.
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The Purple-Whites also faced Bremen in the league last weekend but were beaten 2-1, leaving Heleen Jaques’ side struggling at the wrong end of the table and just a point above bottom club Carl Zeiss Jena.
Bayern and Essen last met only two weeks ago, with the Munich Frauen claiming a comfortable 5-0 victory in the Bundesliga. They have now won the last 14 league meetings by an aggregate score of 38-3. The last time Bayern failed to beat Essen was in a 2-2 draw in April 2019.
Team news
There are no changes from the midweek Champions League game, meaning head coach José Barcala remains without Sarah Zadrazil and Lena Oberdorf as they recover from their cruciate ligament injuries. Alara Şehitler (partial ACL tear), Klara Bühl (muscular), Jovana Damnjanović (workload) and Katharina Naschenweng(knee) are also still unavailable, while Anna Klink will again miss out due to a minor muscle tear.
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Pre-match quotes
José Barcala: “We’ve got great respect for knockout matches and also for Essen. We won’t underestimate the opposition and need to perform at the highest level on Monday. The league game a few weeks ago is only of limited help in our preparation, because the game was very much influenced by the early goals and red card. But what we expect is a team that’s very compact and well organised in defence. We need to find ways to create spaces between the lines and play into them. We also need to be very precise and coordinated.”
Franziska Kett: “We’re really looking forward to the semi-final. The dream of getting to the final in Cologne is a big one for the team, but we’re fully aware of what a tough task we face with Essen. We want to make the most of home advantage and play our game from the very first minute. We’ll face a well-organised Essen team that will put in a lot of effort. If we play our game, I firmly believe we’ll win.”
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🏟️✨ Bayern will play their Champions League semi-final home leg against Barcelona. Tickets are available here!
Bayern vs. Barcelona – FCB Women return to the Allianz Arena
Find out more about Barcelona ahead of the semi-finals:
