Bayern and Wolfsburg lay down marker

Bayern biltz

After four goals in two games for Germany, Lea Schüller managed to carry her international form back to the Bundesliga and end a dry patch of one goal in four games with a brace in Bayern's 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. The champions have recovered well since the home loss to Wolfsburg on November 9 with three straight wins, including a victory over serial Champions League winners Lyon.

Maximiliane Rall also got a brace while Linda Dallmann, Giulia Gwinn and Viviane Asseyi also helped themselves. Bayern now average 3.8 goals per game in the Bundesliga and face Häcken on Thursday in a game that could see them seal progress to the Champions League knockouts.

Wolves take time to bare teeth

That win on Saturday sent the Bavarians top overnight, but their main title rivals Wolfsburg were in no mood to let it remain that way, dishing out a 5-0 thumping to lowly Carl-Zeiss Jena on Sunday. The She Wolves have slipped up against unfancied sides before this season and led only 1-0 at the break, taking until 38 minutes to break the deadlock through Sandra Starke's header.

"We missed a bit of greed in the first half, especially in the last third," admitted coach Tommy Stroot after the game. "Who creates dynamism, who gets the ball over the line? Those were the points we talked about during the break. In the second half, we were clearer and more determined." Stroot's side face bottom side Servette in their Champions League group on Wednesday before an all-important meeting with Chelsea that is likely to determine their fate.

Mind the gap

While Stroot could concentrate on improving the finer details, the season is already turning into a slog for Carl Zeiss Jena. The newly-promoted side have lost their last four games by an aggregate of 19-1 and were only able to field four substitutes at the weekend.

But even their two points from 10 games puts them above Sand, who only have a goalless draw with Carl Zeiss Jena to show for their campaign after a 1-0 loss to Cologne on Sunday. Sand are one of the few sides remaining in the Bundesliga not linked to a powerful men's side and the disparity in finances and facilities that brings are starting to show. The bottom two combined have a goal difference of minus 50 and three points.

Soon after an international break where England beat Latvia 20-0, the Bundesliga may also have to consider the value in pitting teams of such differing quality against each other.

Chelsea's FA Cup win marks dark day 

Emma Hayes' Chelsea powered past Arsenal in front of over 40,000 fans at Wembley on Sunday to complete the 2021 domestic treble in the COVID-delayed showpiece, with a 3-0 win. Fran Kirby scored early before Australian forward Sam Kerr added a brace to underline the difficulty of the task that faces Wolfsburg on December 16.

Though the final was delayed by the pandemic, the choice to hold it mid-season was due to the significance of the date. Sunday marked 100 years since the English football association banned women's football on the grounds that it was "quite unsuitable for females" and might impact their childbearing ability. That ban took 50 years to overturn and has meant the women's game has always been playing catchup.

"Women’s football was banned 100 years ago. I said to the girls before the game: today we play for everyone who’s made the women’s game what it is. Women’s football is our livelihood but it’s also our passion and today that win was for every woman who’s been involved in women’s football in this country," said Hayes after the game.