Georgia Stanway switched Manchester for Munich last summer and will face English opposition for the first time in six months when her side, Bayern Munich will take on Arsenal in the first leg of the UWCL quarter-final on Tuesday.
As we begin to enter the ‘business end’ of the season, now seems an appropriate time to reflect on Georgia Stanway’s first season away from English domestic football.
The 24-year-old started her career at Blackburn Rovers, before moving to Manchester City in 2015. During her time at Man City, she made 186 appearances establishing herself as an integral part of the team and became the club’s top goal scorer with 67 goals. In 2019 she won the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year and she has certainly lived up to the hype.
During her time at Man City, she broke into the England senior side and is now a regular for the side. Stanway showed her quality on the international stage during England’s Euro 2022 campaign, scoring some pivotal goals, namely an extra-time winner in the quarter-finals against Spain.
Following the expiration of her contract at Man City, Stanway joined four-time Frauen-Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich in May 2022.
After signing for Bayern Munich Stanway admitted that she wanted to challenge herself out of her comfort zone. In an interview, the Barrow-born midfielder said: “The decision for me [to leave] wasn’t as hard as it may have seemed because I knew I was set to go somewhere else to try something new…If I’m being honest, over the last 15-18 months at Manchester City I was at a standstill.”
Stanway has made an impressive start in Germany. She has made 19 appearances so far for the club scoring 6 goals and has claimed her place in the squad having a pass completion rate of 83%.
Stanway will be hoping she can play a part in helping her new club win the UEFA Women’s Champions League, something the club has never done, previously bowing out at the quarter-final and semi-final stages.
Stanway has already made an impact in the Champions League when she scored two goals in seven minutes to overcome a 2-0 deficit to Benfica in the group stages.
The midfielder has already faced England teammates Lucy Bronze and Kiera Walsh in the Champions League when they faced Barcelona. She will face more English teammates when Bayern Munich take on Arsenal this week.
Bayern Munich currently trail league leaders Wolfsburg by two points, however, there is still all to play for with seven league games to go. Bayern Munich’s next league game is a crunch match when they will host Wolfsburg.
The question remains how far will Bayern Munich go in the Champions League and will they be able to get their hands on their fifth Frauen Bundesliga title?
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