Tanikawa Shines as Bayern Progress to Pokal Semi-Final | OneFootball

Following their away win at Hoffenheim this weekend Bayern returned to action Wednesday to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB Pokal Quarter-Finals.

This article written by Matthew Coates

Head Coach Alexander Straus made two changes from the away win in Hoffenheim, with Magdalena Eriksson replacing Tuva Hansen, Sarah Zadrazil replacing Julia Zigiotti in the heart of midfield, and both Alara Şehitler and Lea Schüller replacing Jovana Damnjanović and Linda Dallman in attack. Franziska Kett made her return from a long-term injury as she made the Bayern bench for the first time.

The Bayern XI was as follows:

Ena Mahmutovic (GK) – Giulia Gwinn, Glódís Viggósdóttir (c), Magdalena Eriksson, Carolin Simon – Sarah Zadrazil, Sydney Lohmann – Klara Bühl, Alara Şehitler, Pernille Harder, Lea Schüller

All four DFB Pokal Quarter Finals were happening at the same time, so the rematch of last year’s semi final would result in a place in this year’s semi final. Last time out, it took until penalties for the deadlock to be broken, after Mala Grohs’ saved three of the penalties she faced.

Both Bayern and Frankfurt come into this game in excellent form, having matched each-others results for a number of weeks. The clash between first place and second place in the league was occurring  in the cup, what more could you want? Fellow Bundesliga title rivals Leverkusen and Wolfsburg were also playing their own Quarter-Finals.

Physical First Half

To begin with, Bayern were the more dominant side, using that rousing home support to pile the pressure on Frankfurt’s considerable defence. The first chance went the way of Bayern, after Schüller controlled a long ball exceptionally well and produced a low cross into the box where Zadrazil was in space to hit, but unfortunately could only smash it high and wide.

Frankfurt were competitive, as you would expect, and from a freekick they almost went ahead. A dangerous Nina Lührßen delivery in the eigth minute missed just about everyone but almost connected with Frankfurt captain Tanja Pawollek who was in space – a warning to Bayern, if it was even needed.

Despite these two teams being the current highest scoring teams in German Women’s football this season, chances for either side were hard to come by. Both teams were well equipped with strong defences, and it began to feel like for either side to make the breakthrough, they would need the rub of the green – some luck or taking advantage of any rare mistakes.

Bayern continued to apply pressure, and Harder rallied around claims for a penalty after her shot was smothered following a freekick situation, but nothing came of it. Bayern are one of the most dangerous sides from set-pieces, and showed glimpses of that throughout the first half. Viggosdóttir rose highest for a corner in the 13th minute, but couldn’t produce the power she was looking for. Schüller too had a chance moments later, when a Gwinn cross was reacted to with a superb leap from the German striker, but she also failed to cause any danger for Stina Johannes.

The game then descended into a period of rough challenges and half-chances for both sides. Harder was on the receiving end of a few questionable challenges, but nothing really came from them. Bayern maintained the majority of possession, but were clearly showing respect for Frankfurt and their danger when breaking. The most notable chance of the last moments fell to Elisa Senß in the 37th minute, after she showed her quality by spinning Bühl on the edge of the area, but the shot curled narrowly wide of Mahmutovic’s goal.

Nina Lührßen picked up a yellow card early on, and Bayern responded with both Eriksson and Zadrazil picking up cautions just before the half came to an end.

Cagey Second Half

In the second half, Bayern came out flying and with purpose, perhaps trying to catch Frankfurt off guard. Bayern’s high press was fierce, and generated a corner. From the second phase, a cross from Simon landed temptingly in front of Harder but her shot was straight at Stina Johannes, who reacted well yet  again for the rebound attempt from Zadrazil. After that initial furious flurry though, Bayern relaxed a little bit and dropped the intensity in order to manage fitness.

It must be said that the referee throughout this match was very whistle-happy, and proved it again in the 53rd minute. Frankfurt were given a freekick for essentially nothing, and almost scored from a Nicole Anyomi header.

Frankfurt began to grow into the game a little more after that freekick, but on a rare Bayern break, Gwinn had an uncharacteristically poor touch in the Frankfurt box that rolled out of play. A moment that certainly could have led to more, in what was proving to be a cagey affair so far.

I mentioned that Frankfurt were starting to grow into the game, by the 58th minute, they were more than there. A break from a sloppy Bayern spell into possession led to a dangerous Nicole Anyomi run down the right side. She found danger woman Laura Freigang in space in the centre of the box, and she tried to delicately chip it over an onrushing Mahmutovic, but it deflected off the outstretched toe of the goalkeeper. The rebound fell to Anyomi, and she cleverly found Gräwe on the edge of the box, but her shot aimed at the far corner was dragged wide. A let off for Bayern, and a massive chance for Frankfurt. Mahmutovic the hero, then took a whack to the face after a 50/50 collision with Anyomi. A coming together that kind of summed up the fight and commitment that both teams had shown so far tonight.

Bayern’s first substitutions of the night were Şehitler and Zadrazil being replaced by Zigiotti and Damnjanović. Zadrazil, having only just made her return from injury, looked absolutely shattered so it was sensible to replace her.

Bühl had been at the centre of a lot of Bayern attacks, as she normally is. She did some great work in the 74th minute against her defender and crossed low to the near post, but before it could be converted it was claimed by Stina Johannes.

Frankfurt continued to have some good spells in possession, but failed to find that cutting edge. Their next big chance was unfortunately decisive. A long ball from the defence in the 79th minute toward Laura Freigang was controlled beautifully, and she crossed it into the Bayern box. It missed her initial target Reuteler, but it did not miss Carolin Simon, whose unfortunate touch redirected the ball into the far post and it rolled into her own net, 0-1. It felt really harsh to be behind due to an own goal, as the game remained on a knife’s edge.

Straus responded with two more substitutions, replacing Simon and Schüller for Tanikawa and Kett. Franziska Kett was making her return from a long-term injury – a crazy scenario for her to make her comeback.

Bayern had some chances, a looping strike from Damnjanović after a nervy palm away by Johannes in goal. Later on, Kett had a powerful strike from distance, but Johannes was equal to it at the near post.

But just as hope was draining from the Bayern Campus, just as the clock was edging toward 90 minutes, a moment of magic. Bühl did extremely well to find the space for a weak footed cross, and Damnjanović was there to chest it in to the far corner, 1-1! I’m not sure she knew much about it, but who cares!

I’m not really sure how much added time there was, but it was level when the final whistle blew – Extra time awaited!

Madness in Extra Time

I don’t know if the team knew at this stage, but the result was confirmed by the time extra time kicked off. Wolfsburg, Queens of the cup, 10-times in a row winners, had been knocked out. On top of that, Leverkusen were knocked out. Whoever won this game would be massive favourites to lift that Pokal come summertime. Left in the competition – Werder Bremen, Hoffenheim, Hamburg – and one of Bayern or Frankfurt. A lot on the line then…

Bayern came out of the blocks with some motivation, and Tanikawa started to show her quality. Her first attacking involvement was to release a beautifully weighted chipped ball in behind the defence to Bühl, who controlled sublimely and released a shot, but it was blocked behind by Wölter.

From the ensuing corner, madness. The corner from Bühl was headed away, and it landed at the feet of Tanikawa. She controlled and beautifully jinked past her immediate marker. She ran down the line and somehow evaded more challenges, before producing a wonderful cross with power and precision toward the near post, where Viggosdóttir acrobatically finished into the roof of the net, 2-1! An incredible moment for the 19 year-old, who clearly displayed her immense talent for all to see.

Frankfurt looked winded, a quickfire double for Bayern seemed to knock the wind out of their sails. Straus made another change, replacing the tenacious Lohmann for Caruso.

Tanikawa was clearly on her game today, playing some beautiful passes and touches, combining with others to create more opportunities. She played a great pass into Harder, who laid it off for Bühl to cross into the box, and Caruso could have scored herself, but unfortunately the effort deflected over.

Bayern looked keen to show that the game was done, and Tanikawa had yet another special moment. After a rough challenge on Harder in the 104th minute, the ball fell to Tanikawa and the referee played advantage. She shaped up to shoot and then chopped away, creating enough space for her to lash a shot that rifled into the crossbar and behind the line for 3-1! A truly shining moment for the Japanese Sensation.

Bayern went into the water break at 105 minutes sort of in disbelief combined with euphoria, and when the match restarted, it was about to get even better.

Bühl, not wanting to be outshined too much by Tanikawa, had another moment of brilliance where she knocked it past two defenders and ran to the byline, sending a cross past Stina Johannes into open space, where Damnjanović was there to rifle home a fourth, 4-1!

Frankfurt knew by now that they were beaten, but they still threw women forward at every opportunity. But what amazed me was how, even at 4-1 with not much time left to play, there were players who were sprinting back to defend at every Frankfurt attack. This meant that actual opportunities to cut into the deficit were few and far between. Mahmutovic was forced into making a save from a powerful Reuteler strike in the 111th minute.

As the whistle blew at the FC Bayern Campus, the Frauen were into the Pokal semi-final. A clear mission after tonight, to go one better than last year.

Bremen at Home before the International Break

What I took from tonight’s performance was one of togetherness, of fight and determination the likes of which we haven’t always seen this season, especially at times in the UWCL. If we can utilise some of the momentum this win will give us after the international break, then we could become a real problem in all three competitions.

I wanted to shout out a couple of star performers that my match report only briefly covered. Firstly, I thought Ena Mahmutovic was outstanding today. She could do absolutely nothing about the goal we conceded, and apart from that was there when she was needed and extremely composed and confident on the ball. She really has stepped up in Mala Grohs’ absence, who actually just recently made her comeback this past weekend with Bayern’s second team. I don’t know how Straus will view the competition in goal, but it’s almost definitely a positive that he will have to decide between the two.

I also want to shout out Sydney Lohmann. She responded incredibly well to the undoubted disappointment of missing out on a place in the German national team in the upcoming international break, and showed determination and grit in holding midfield, and was consistently key in breaking up attacks.

I thought that Bühl was sensational yet again, showing the world how lucky any club would be to have her on a free in the summer. I hope Bianca can pull something out of the bag, because she will be incredibly difficult to replace if it does come down to that.

As we would expect of her, Jovana Damnjanović also played a key role in today’s win, not only with her two goals but her fight and physicality on the ball that helped to quell Frankfurt’s momentum and regain control for Bayern.

And finally, Momoko Tanikawa. That’s it. That’s kind of all I have to say about her. She was absolutely sensational in extra time, and if that is any indication of the type of talent that she is, she will be a star and a fan-favourite in no time. A player with incredible technique that consistently plays the right pass, at the right time, with the right amount of power. And her dribbling is up there with the best players in the world. She could prove to be one the greatest signings in Bayern Frauen history, and she has certainly begun in the best possible way. Obviously it is ridiculous to expect that level of performance going forward on a consistent basis, but she’s clearly capable of magic. I’m sure Straus will have no choice but to play her more often, and that can only mean an improvement to our prospects in the second half of the season.

Bayern Frauen have some tough games coming up after the international break, with UWCL quarter final legs against Lyon looming on the horizon. The team showed tonight however, that they are more than capable of giving any team in the world a fight, and what more can we ask for as fans. Next up, Bayern play host to Werder Bremen at home on Sunday 16th February.