Bundesliga title race leaving no room for error

Those waiting for the Women's Bundesliga title race to be decided are going to have to be patient.

The top two clubs, Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg, are so superior to the rest that they rarely drop points. On Matchday 16 Bayern beat Hoffenheim 4-2 in an entertaining encounter, but proved profligate in front of goal. It feels like only the Bavarians can beat themselves now. "We simply have to be more ice-cold in front of goal," complained Lina Magull afterwards. "That way we make it unnecessarily tense at the end."  

Nevertheless, Magull was right to say that Bayern "were superior in all respects." With precise passes, high pressing and an enviable attack, the reigning titleholders are heading into the business end of the season with the usual sense of superiority.

However, Wolfsburg are well equipped and hot on Bayern’s heels after an outstanding 5-1 win over Cologne. Alex Popp, who recently returned from a long-term knee injury, is finding her form and Wolfsburg still have a game in hand against Sand to overturn the two-point deficit at the summit. 

The Jonsdottir show

In one of the most impressive debuts the Women's Bundesliga has ever seen, Wolfsburg's Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir left Cologne in a spin as the winger scored the first two goals in the win.

At 14, Jonsdottir was already playing in the second division in Iceland. Now 21, she is considered a huge talent. A model career of performance culture, but one with a charming breakthrough story — the Icelander always looks like she is having a lot of fun on the pitch. By comparison Germany have produced a steady stream of solid talent players, but have been short of wow moments something that has become a factor for the national team.

New life in the relegation battle

SC Sand, who had already been written off as relegation candidate number one without a win to their name, have now clinched back-to-back wins.

The plucky underdogs took the lead inside ten minutes against Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 16 thanks to a dream goal scored by Noemi Gentile. Sascha Glass' charges held on to their 2-1 lead for 60 minutes for a deserved win that nevertheless shows there's still room for improvement.

Bad luck for Selina Cerci

It was being written as a fairy tale season, but now a harsh reality has set in. The Frauen Bundesliga's surprise top scorer Selina Cerci, who recently made her national team debut, has suffered a cruciate ligament injury that has ruled her out for the rest of the season. The fact that the top goal scorer’s award will go somewhere else should now be the least of her concerns.

Turbine Potsdam, on the other hand, have lost their most important player at the worst possible time with the club trailing league leaders Bayern by seven points. 

Mexico: New beginnings for women's football 

It was no ordinary weekend in the MX Femenil. The Mexican women's league announced that Friday's match between Queretaro and Atlas would not take place and, while the official statements cited no reasons, they were obvious. 

Just a few days earlier, the same fixture in the men's league saw horrific scenes of violence. The disturbing footage and lives lost caused alarm around the world with reports suggesting it was the knock-on effect of a cartel war. Mexico, one of the hosts of the 2026 Men's World Cup, were tough in their response with Queretaro now playing behind closed doors for a year, a collective punishment that also affects the women.

Queretaro's women are currently seventh in the MX Femenil, an exciting league that isn't really on Europe's radar. Founded in 2017, it has become the platform for a feminist awakening in Mexico in recent years. According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, many clubs have succeeded in mobilizing fans from men's football. Attendance records are broken regularly with the final in December - the MX Femenil is a play-off league that crowns champions every six months — watched by more than 34,000 fans. 

The champions also have a story to tell. The Rayadas from CF Monterrey, who currently lead the league again, come from the city with the most femicides in the country.

Mexico correspondent Diego Mancera has noted how curious it is that the city most violently shaken by macho violence has produced the two most popular and successful women's teams in the country, the Rayadas and the Tigres. It's a form of resistance because in Monterrey, the industrial heart of Mexico with a growing investment culture, where there is potential, there is investment.

Several female players are still dealing with low wages and unequal treatment, but despite that women's football in Mexico has succeeded in creating a great spirit of optimism within a short space of time. 

This article was originally published in German.
Edited by: Matt Ford