Jersey Swap: Eric Smith
This is a performance from St Pauli that emphasized the collective strength of the team perhaps more than the individual one, but there were a few individuals in their team that managed to stick out. At the heart of St Pauli’s five man defense, Eric Smith marshaled the defense well and acted as firefighter the few times the St Pauli defense was troubled by the Bayern Munich offense, ending with seven clearances and two interceptions to his name.
Der Kaiser: Dayot Upamecano
It is now five matches in a row that Bayern have kept a clean sheet, and it is not the first time that the opposition simply had no shots on goal to speak of. A large and dominant reason for this was Dayot Upamecano, whose brilliance on and off the ball set the stage for Bayern’s victory. His passing security allowed Bayern to keep the ball at the back even when the opposition forwards were itching to get a foot in and launch a counter attack. But when things fell apart up front and a counter attack was launched, Upa was there as well. Winning six of his seven duels on the night, Upamecano was simply a wall that St Pauli could not breach. Jamal Musiala’s goal was important for the win but so was the clean sheet, which Bayern achieved largely thanks to the dominant Frenchman.
Der Fußballgott: Jamal Musiala
Jamal Musiala has become so incredibly important to this team. He was one of Bayern’s lone sparks in this match, repeatedly trying to twist away from his opponents and create the space the Bavarian giants were so desperately looking for. Of course, Musiala’s performance cannot go without a mention to his incredible goal. He showed incredible tenacity and genuine defensive intelligence to win the ball, then he took the ball towards goal with a singular goal in mind: leather the ball at goal. And that he did, curving the ball to confuse the goalkeeper and smashing the ball in off the crossbar. What a goal, what a deserving matchwinner.
Der Bomber: Leroy Sané
Finally, 10 matchdays into the season, Leroy Sané made his first start in the Bundesliga. His form has been improving over the past few weeks, but what earned Sané this start was the tenacity and drive he showed in this match. Like so many of Bayern’s forwards today, not much of what he tried worked. But unlike the others, Sané kept on plugging away and kept bothering the opposition backline. His runs in behind, his dangerous crosses and especially his daunting shot technique caused St Pauli many worries today.
Man of the Match: Joshua Kimmich
It was another brilliant performance from Joshua Kimmich. With the absence of Aleksandar Pavlović, Kimmich has had to shoulder a lot more of the creative burden. Fortunately, he is used to such burdens. He dictated build up play all match, dropping between the center backs and ensuring smooth possession for the team when necessary, but speeding up the play when needed as well. This author lost count of the amount of raking diagonals Kimmich played, opening the field up and giving Bayern space to work with in a match seemingly starved of any. He was also at his defensive best today, winning five of his seven duels and stopping multiple possible counter attacks dead in their tracks. It was another brilliant performance heading into the international break by Germany’s captain and Bayern’s number 6.
