Top game of the women's Bundesliga: The one with the head

Is Wolfsburg against Bayern finally a top game on equal terms again? Anyone who doesn't exactly like FC Bayern Munich might have even hoped, due to the strong performances of both teams in the last few weeks, that a victory for VfL Wolfsburg would bring a touch of excitement to the title fight for the women's 1st Bundesliga.

VfL sports director Dieter Hecking even confidently announced before the game that the Wolfsburg women would win and announced the construction of a new performance center for the women, which should be completed in 2029. According to WAZ, the costs are between 10 and 15 million euros. VfL coach Stephan Lerch, on the other hand, took a more cautious approach to the game, and the audience perhaps had a premonition. There were just 9,015 spectators. For comparison: In the women's Regionalliga West, around 18,000 people were expected at the BVB game against Schalke in the Rote Erde stadium on Sunday.

In what was supposed to be a top game, VfL rarely got ahead; in the end it was 4-1 for the Munich team. The impression was that they were now looking for their challenges in the details. At least coach José Barcala said in the interview after the game that one goal was to finally score from a corner against Wolfsburg, something that hadn't happened under him yet.

This was achieved twice with a well-rehearsed variation: Klara Bühl served from the corner flag to make it 1-0 (36th) and 4-0 (81st) for Bernadette Amani. The Ivory Coast captain converted both times with her head completely free - as one of the smallest players on the field, her colleagues had lured all of Wolfsburg's defenders away from her. For her first goal, she aimed it almost exactly under the crossbar from the penalty spot. Wolfsburg's goalkeeper Stina Johannes was still there for the second goal from a shorter distance, but Amani's header came with too much speed to prevent the goal.

They were the first two Bundesliga goals from Bernadette Amani, who is usually the unsung pace setter in Bayern's midfield with her clever and careful passing game. She keeps the game going with her positional play and lots of short passes and ensures that Bayern's game idea can actually work. She defends against the ball with an eye, but if necessary, it can also be a technically clean tackle. It is also indispensable in tight Champions League games.

After her move from Spanish club CD Tenerife to FC Bayern in January, it didn't take long for Amani to take on a leading role. This may be because important players in their positions have been injured for a long time and some still are. At the same time, the influence of her time in Spain on her game is unmistakable and fits exactly with José Barcala's ideas. After the game, in the middle of a live television interview, Amani was greeted by an FC Bayern employee with a loud “Vamos!” removed from the transmission. She then jumped into the team photo laughing. “Extremely sweet,” said Klara Bühl, “It’s great that she’s being rewarded today for her performance, which she’s been working on in the last few games.”

While Wolfsburg still has to nibble on the departure of Lena Oberdorf in games like this, in Munich they can look forward to being spoiled for choice between Amani and her in the future - or simply being able to see both play.