FC Bayern Women kicked off their 2026/27 pre-season with a resounding 4-1 victory over RB Ōmiya Ardija at the NACK5 Stadium in Tokyo.
Bayern got off to the better start in hot summer temperatures, controlling proceedings before taking the lead. Pernille Harder opened the scoring with a corner kick, finding the Dane at the far post to pounce on the bouncing ball.
The Munich Frauen remained on the front foot, with José Barcala's side creating promising moments. However, Ōmiya had some promising moments, mainly through Hanon Nishio's three efforts off target. Bayern finally stretched their lead on the stroke of half-time when Momoko Tanikawa found Jovana Damnjanović to finish at the far post.
The second half saw no change in the pattern of play, with Nishio remaining a lively outlet for Ōmiya. Bayern got their third just before the hour when substitute Katharina Naschenweng powered her way up the inside left and pinged an unstoppable left-footed shot across goal and into the far corner.
The home crowd finally had something to cheer in the 73rd minute when Minami Munakata's stooping header got them on the scoreboard. Bayern got their fourth in added time when Alara converted a penalty awarded for handball.
Regina van Eijk, Kassandra Potsi, Ella Rauscha, and Sarah Mattner all made their debuts for Bayern during the game. The victory marks a promising start to the 2026/27 season for the German double winners.
The team will return home to Munich on Monday and continue working in the coming weeks on preparing for the new season in the Bundesliga, DFB Cup, and Champions League. They have two more friendly matches scheduled before the competitive action, against Nürnberg on 1 August and Paris FC on 9 August.
Source: Yahoo Sports