Bayern Munich’s second match day of the 2024/25 season against SC Freiburg saw Harry Kane open his goalscoring account, while Thomas Müller made a record breaking 710th appearance for the Bavarians. Müller is now Bayern’s all-time record appearance maker, surpassing legendary goalkeeper, Sepp Maier. Congratulations, Thomas!
These were the standout players:
Jersey Swap: Ritsu Doan
The Japanese international continues his strong start to the season following his goal in last week’s
Unfortunately for Doan, he didn’t manage to get on the score-sheet against Bayern, but that certainly isn’t a reflection of his overall performance.
A strong work ethic and a tendency to find himself in the right place at the right time, Doan could have been far more problematic had the rest of his side showed up as well.
The 26-year-old winger almost helped his side grab a goal back in the dying embers of the game after his left-footed shot from within the box was blocked by the hand of João Palhinha. Lucas Höler, however, went on to blast the subsequent penalty over the bar and into the stands.
Doan will be hoping to get back to winning ways when SC Freiburg take on VFL Bochum on 14 September.
Der Kaiser: Kim Min-jae
Kim Min-jae looked like a player reborn following his mistake-ridden performance against VFL Wolfsburg last weekend.
Strength, speed and passing ability, the Korean defender highlighted everything that makes him such a powerful defender on his day.
Min-jae’s most pivotal moment came in the 60th minute when he heroically blocked Patrick Osterhage’s shot from the centre of Bayern’s box moments after Dayot Upamecano’s rebounded cross fell directly into the Freiburg midfielder’s path.
Min-jae’s ability to bounce back so radically from last week’s poor showing proved not only his physical strength, but mental strength too.
Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich
This feels a bit like cheating since Joshua Kimmich was technically pencilled in as a right-back. However, given Kompany’s fluid formation, the German international found himself almost exclusively in the midfield throughout the game.
Kimmich’s performance was less a matter of flashy individual brilliance but more an example of how important a role a small cog plays in helping a team tick over.
The Rottweil-born midfielder proved to be the cog in Bayern’s midfield that allowed them to keep control over Freiburg, eventually forcing a stubborn defence into submission.
Der Bomber: Serge Gnabry
According to Kimmich, Serge Gnabry has never worked so hard in preseason to regain his place in Bayern’s starting eleven. Every ounce of that hard worked showed against SC Freiburg.
Involved in nearly every single Bayern attack, always acting as an outlet down the right-hand flank and always doing something useful with the ball, Serge Gnabry put in a monstrous performance.
A perfect summary of Gnabry’s performance came in the 78th minute when his glorious cross from Bayern’s right hand flank found Müller in the box, who finished classily.
One hopes Gnabry, who has often been criticised for being a form player, can continue his strong start to the season.
Meister of the Match: Thomas Müller
Today was all about one man and one man only: Thomas Müller.
17 straight Bundesliga seasons, scoring in 16 of those 17 seasons and a grand total of 710 caps to become Bayern Munich’s all-time record appearance maker. Thomas Müller, take a bow.
In true Thomas Müller fashion, breaking a long-standing Bayern record wasn’t enough. In the 78th minute, the 34-year old veteran managed to bring down Serge Gnabry’s pinpoint cross with a touch of class, subsequently blasting the ball in the back of the net to score his 150th Bundesliga goal.
Despite the tender age of 34, Thomas Müller proved that he still has tons to offer this Bayern side, be it be part of the starting eleven or coming off the bench, as the Germans say: “es ist mehr egal.”
Soak it up while you still can because it is truly a privilege to witness, arguably, Bayern Munich’s greatest legend of all time.
