A lot happened on Matchday 13 of the Women’s Bundesliga. Wolfsburg lost a league game for the first time in 16 months, 1. FC Köln picked up just one point but made an important debut and Duisburg’s Freutel scored a hat-trick against Turbine Potsdam.

SV Meppen v SGS Essen 1:1 (1:0)

Essen started cautiously after the clear 1:6 cup loss against Leipzig and left the game to Meppen. Both teams initially got dangerously in front of goal mainly via set pieces. SGS had a good scene in the 26th minute, although Rieke took too long to shoot after a cross pass. Shortly after, Anna Margraf probably wanted to cross on the other side, but after a one-two with Mai Hirata, she hit the ball so well that it went into the top corner to give Meppen the lead (27th). From then on, Meppen regained the upper hand.

Markus Högner made an attacking change after the break, brought in Laureta Elmazi and Beke Sterner and it quickly paid off. In the 50th minute, Sterner equalized after a Kowalski free kick. SGS were now trying to shape the game, Meppen was waiting for a counterattack. For example, he became dangerous in the 67th minute via Josten and Punsar. The final phase was disputed and Meppen almost scored the winning goal, but Atanasia Moraitou’s shot only touched the wood (86th). On the other side, Endemann goes straight for Laura Sieger (88th).

Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munich 0:2 (0:1)

Aleander Straus had to make an early substitution, Carolin Simon suffered a head injury and Vilhjálmsdóttir replaced her. Bremen threw themselves into every duel and Bayern Munich struggled to capitalize on their own chances at first. Lea Schüller first hit the inside post in the 41st minute, but the ball went from there into the goal to make it 0-1.

After the break there was another interruption due to injury, Jasmin Sehan had to be substituted, Tuana Keles replaced her. The Munich players pushed for the second goal, Schüller missed several promising chances. Hausicke equalized for Bremen after a free kick on the head (62nd), but Grohs held.

Maximiliane Rall finally closed the bag after a pass in the way of Stanway in the 78th minute. The Bremen team found themselves in front of goal via Tuana Keles (88th), but Sternard did not recover the ball decisively. Lührßen saw the yellow-red card in added time for a foul on Laurent.

Eintracht Frankfurt v SC Freiburg 4:1 (1:0)

Despite generous wear and tear, Eintracht clearly won against SC Freiburg in the end. Nicole Anyomi, honored before the match for her 100th Bundesliga game, scored a brace. She first transformed a cross from Hanshaw (17th). The German international scored the second goal in the 50th minute after a run through the Freiburg defence.

Freiburg coach Theresa Merk was not only unhappy with the result after the match: « We have to understand the fact that we weren’t awake enough at crucial moments, which allowed the Frankfurters to appear freely behind our chain.. It failed because of this and the lack of penetrating power of our offensive.

VfL Wolfsburg v TSG Hoffenheim 1:2 (1:1)

At VfL, matches have been almost on autopilot lately: take advantage, increase if possible and then bring victory in a controlled and muscular duel. This time, however, it didn’t work from the first minute despite an early lead from Jule Brand. There was a lack of control in the middle. In addition, Stroot Marina had to replace the injured Hegering in the 41st minute, Lynn Wilms arrived as right-back and Hendrich moved into central defence. The VfL defense became unbalanced, TSG were able to prick the needle several times, especially on the right side of the Wolfsburg defence, the equalizer came shortly after because Rauch deflected a cross of Naschenweng on that side for his own purpose.

Nicole Billa scored the winning goal for Hoffenheim in the 70th minute with her sixth goal of the season, assisted by Melissa Kössler. Hoffenheim remain close to Frankfurt, according to Alex Popp’s post-match interview, that could be a drag on Wolfsburg at the right time ahead of important games in the coming weeks.

MSV Duisburg vs Turbine Potsdam 3:0 (2:0)

« A lot of what we planned to do worked, but a lot didn’t work either. But we worked hard, » Duisburg player of the game Sarah Freutel said, summing up the important game against Potsdam in Magenta. The 30-year-old scored the first hat-trick of his career and coach Nico Schneck’s plan worked perfectly because Freutel continued to switch from the right wing into the middle and could then be used with long balls behind the defense of Potsdam.

However, the course of the match was not as clear as the result, as Potsdam fought back for the defeat. But at the end of the attacks, either the accuracy was lacking – or Ena Mahmutovic released with a strong reflex, as against Anna Gerhardt in the 68th minute. It was once used for the Turbine. In the 46th minute, Amber Barrett had the opportunity to take a penalty, but put it outside the post and shortly after it was 3-0 (48th).

FC Cologne v Bayer Leverkusen 0:0 (0:0)

As the result shows, both teams weren’t exactly overflowing with goal threats, especially in the first half there were few highlights as FC and Leverkusen played very carefully. Sascha Glass had to react to Adriana Achcińska’s injury shortly after the break, with Alena Bienz replacing her. Perhaps this change also caused the superiority to fluctuate in the second half, initially it looked like Cologne could win the game. But then the Leverkusen team took control of the game.

Most notable here were Alexandra Emmerling and substitute Kristin Kögel. One point in the relegation battle is actually not enough for Cologne in particular, but there is hope that Selina Cerci celebrated her comeback after a cruciate ligament rupture in the final minutes and thus played her first match at the new club. The attacker should now be slowly brought back.

Eintracht Frankfurt v SC Freiburg 4:1 (1:0)

VfL Wolfsburg v TSG Hoffenheim 1:2 (1:1)

MSV Duisburg vs Turbine Potsdam 3:0 (2:0)

FC Cologne v Bayer Leverkusen 0:0 (0:0)

SV Meppen v SGS Essen 1:1 (1:0)

Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munich 0:2 (0:1)