Match awards from Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich’s entertaining draw

Bundesliga table leader Bayern Munich’s draw against fifth placed Borussia Dortmund was an adrenaline filled fest from start to finish. It was a battle of tenacious tackles, intense pressure and sudden attacks in a tumultuous Signal Iduna Park.

With 10 blocked shots, 26 tackles won and 41 clearances made, it was game of the defense constantly overpowering attacking forays. While the game ended with a seemingly low scoreline, the intensity and emotions were stratospheric. It was a cinematic football fest between the two biggest German clubs under two of the youngest managers in 38-year-old Vincent Kompany for Bayern and 36-year-old Nuri Sahin for Dortmund.

Jersey Swap: Nico Schlotterbeck

The Borussia Dortmund captain was a true leader on the pitch and his performance reflected the initiative on show from his end. After sitting under intense pressure from the visitors for 26 minutes, Schlotterbeck sensed the one weak link in the Bayern backline – Konrad Laimer’s pace against the wily Jamie Gittens. Schlotterbeck then went on to make a laser guided through pass to Gittens, slicing past the entire Bayern midfield and backline in one go. Gittens struck gold with the half chance available, racing past Laimer and finding the corner of the net beating Manuel Neuer in the process. With two chances created and picking up an assist, his incredible vision was a keystone in Dortmund’s counter attacking play. Topping off his attacking contributions Nico held the Bayern attack at bay and along with his men frustrated the visitors to no end.

Der Kaiser: Dayot Upamecano

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Perhaps the least likely award on paper, but Upa earned his money when it mattered. Serhou Guirassy is one pacey player, but today he mostly ran into the pockets of Dayot Upamecano. Upa’s marking of the Dortmund striker was akin to gum stuck to a shoe and the Frenchman’s relentless pressure threw a spanner in the works of the homeside’s attack.

Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich

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In the mad chaos of the 90 minutes and 22 men, Kimmich’s calm was key to Bayern coming back from behind. The pass-master helmed his team’s movements on the frontfoot as well as on the backfoot to quickly regain possession anytime Dortmund stole the ball. With a 91 percent passing rate, six accurate long balls and 10 passes into the final third, Kimmich could not have done better tonight, playing from his personal favourite No. 6 position.

Der Bomber: Leroy Sane

The fact that Bayern had an xG of 1.46 whereas Dortmund had a paltry 0.27 speaks volumes of the 1-1 scoreline. BVB’s Jamie Gittens turned a 12 percent chance into a goal that completely turned the game on its head. The Bayern attackers on the other end were frustratingly poor in their end product. Leroy Sane’s late game antics drew a lot of attention from the homeside that eventually won him the free-kick. Bayern capitalised the late opportunity to score an equaliser to take a point home. It was far from his best performance, but, it gave Bayern an off chance on a very important night and these hard fought points can go a long way towards the end of the season.

Meister of the Match: Jamal Musiala

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Another headed goal for the young German. The kid was a lonestar for Bayern tonight. His dribbles often turned into fizzled out attacks due to an incredibly tight Dortmund unit that shutdown his teammates. Creating four chances and having six dribbles past a menacing Dortmund side, Musiala was the core of the Bayern attack. He got his opportunity in the 85th minute when he was unmarked in the box and made the most of it with a precise header into the corner of the net and wrenched the game back from Dortmund’s grip. Considering the performances on show, it was a fitting result that both sides can be happy with.

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