Following on from Bayern Munich’s draw against Bayer Leverkusen, it is time to pick out the best opposition player as well as the best defender, midfielder, attacker and the MOTM of the game.
Jersey Swap: Robert Andrich
Shout out to Granit Xhaka, who used every bit of his experience and guile to frustrate the Bayern attack. But Andrich was even more involved, running around and doing so well to stem the tide of Bayern attacks flowing towards the Leverkusen. He would put in niggling challenges on the Bayern attackers, rile them up a little and cast his magic on the referee that he would get away with several dangerous tackles without a foul being called. That he was only called for one foul required a mastery of the dark arts.
Andrich truly is the next Arturo Vidal, questionable haircut and all. Of course, he did score an all important goal that completely changed the trajectory of the match by netting an absolute belter. He may have even helped Leverkusen win the game this way if it weren’t for an even better strike…
Der Kaiser: Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae
Is it allowed to give two people the award? Yes. Because I said so. Well, and the fact that Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae had the exact same job that they executed with absolute perfection. This is why Bayern were so willing to bet on them when everyone else said that they could not hack it. This is why they were willing to sell Matthjis De Ligt. Because they trusted in the duo’s ability to deliver performances like this. Their front foot defending was utterly unbelievable and completely destroyed Xabi Alonso’s game plan of absorbing pressure and hitting Bayern on the break or threatening with long passes to Victor Boniface.
The two shut everything down, demonstrating a perfect understanding to both venture extremely high up the field and win the ball when Leverkusen tried to regain the ball to spring a counterattack and also ensure there would be no easy passes in behind on the few occasions one of the two was not able to win the ball by being covered by their partner. It so perfectly contrasts their performances from the last match against Leverkusen, in which the two looked uncertain in foreign roles and were completely overrun and embarrassed time and again. However, given today’s herculean task that they are entirely familiar with, they exceeded all expectations.
Der Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich
Death, taxes and Joshua Kimmich winning “Der Fußballgott”. Some things in life are inevitable and so is Kimmich’s tendency to dominate a midfield. He completed 119 passes, ended up with 4 key passes, won 3 of his 4 duels in midfield and dictated the tempo from the start. Bayer Leverkusen’s players were clearly instructed to put more pressure on Kimmich than his other midfield partners and it paid off early with the ball given away cheaply once. After that, however, Kimmich was virtually faultless and utterly controlled the game despite the best efforts of the opponents.
Der Bomber: Jamal Musiala
None of Bayern’s forwards were as exceptional today as when they scored those 20 goals in a week. There were some great moments from every attacker, however, with Jamal Musiala providing the best and most frequent moments of the lot. The fact that he eased past 4 opponents to win an early free kick Michael Olise just struck over and we all shrugged it off as if it was nothing is emblematic of how normal Musiala’s unbelievable brilliance is getting. The former FC Chelsea player would pop up in different pockets of space, roaming around, connecting with others and helping the play along throughout the match along some of his usual outstanding dribbles. Subsequently, he was rewarded as the only forward to not get subbed off. There was not too much else of note about his performance, but it was a good one that deserved the award.
Man of the Match: Aleksandar Pavlović
This is not a logical pick. This is one made with the heart and for one reason alone. Aleksandar Pavlović actually struggled a fair bit in the first half, showing the kind of hesitation and second guessing that simply usually never pops up in the young German international’s game. His poor pass that led to Leverkusen’s goal summed up most of his first half. He would misplace a pass here, miss the opportunity for a good through pass there and generally tried to keep it safe. Until the 39th minute, that is.
When the ball rebounded to him at the edge of the box, it is impossible to overestimate how much work he still needed to do to score a goal. The way he controlled the ball on his chest, demonstrated laser focused vision on shooting without once second guessing himself and somehow maneuvered his body into the ideal position to strike the ball into the corner within in the short period of time before he even struck the ball was incredible.
And the strike itself? It was one of beauty, not power, as Pavlović put so much backspin on it that its’ gorgeous arc into the far corner seemed to defy physics and completely befuddled Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. In the end, the goalkeeper’s last gasp touch of the ball only served to make the goal even more dramatic. Pavlović would use this exquisite goal to grow in confidence and impose himself more on the match, improving as the match went on, but this award is for this goal alone. On a day where Bayern really struggled to score, it required something more special than Andrich’s goal for the ball to hit the back of the net. And my word, was that goal ever so special.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen? Then check out our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where we cover everything from the starting XI selections, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, observations from the match, and where things go from here. You can get the show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
