Triple desire at VfL Wolfsburg, cup frustration among the players from FC Bayern Munich. The feelings before the end of the season in the best club teams in German women’s football could hardly be more different after the semi-finals of the DFB Cup.
VfL Wolfsburg defeated the Bundesliga leaders 5-0 (2-0) – and caused a debacle in Munich with a show of force.
For Bayern, the second title dream this season is gone. In the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Munich women failed at WFC Arsenal. After all, the team of coach Alexander Straus still has everything in their own hands in the league. The advantage over VfL is five games before the end of the season but only one point. The remaining encounters could be a nail-biter for FC Bayern.
The Wolfsburg women hope that the cup debacle will throw their opponents from the south in the league. A single slip by the Munich team could be enough to secure the championship after all. It was important to send a signal in the direction of Munich, said VfL trainer Tommy Stroot. “Such a big defeat is always a setback for a team,” noted Wolfsburg goalkeeper Merle Frohms.
Wolfsburg wants the ninth cup success in a row
The Bavarians don’t want to waste any thought on the fact that the bitter cup defeat is getting stuck in the minds of the players and could therefore affect the league. “These are two different competitions. It’s always a special game in the cup. It’s all or nothing,” said Munich defender Glodis Viggosdottir.
With their gala performance in Munich, the Wolfsburg women saved the chance to triumph in the DFB Cup for the ninth time in a row. Nevertheless, it is not a matter of course to be in the final, emphasized Frohms. “It’s a tough fight every year. We’re all the happier that it’s worked out again.” The club from Lower Saxony still has every opportunity in the Champions League. In the semi-finals, coach Stroot’s team will face Bayern conquerors Arsenal. The performance gives “a lot” of self-confidence for the premier class, in which a club from Germany won the title for the last time in 2015 with 1. FFC Frankfurt.
The eagerly awaited encounter in the cup semifinals had quickly developed into a one-sided affair. “It was very painful,” Straus said. For the Munich women, VfL remains a cup scare – as in the past six cup years, they failed at Wolfsburg. The Bayern women were rarely as hopeless as on Saturday. Twice Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir (19th minute/47th), Bayern goalkeeper Maria Luisa Grohs with an own goal (44th), national player Jule Brand (56th) and Dominique Janssen with a penalty (60th) ensured the victory in front of 2500 spectators of the guests – and let VfL continue to dream of a treble.
