Our players may have passed on their tiredness to the fans, because my god, was that a tiring game to watch.
Despite holding a strong lead in the title race, Bayern Munich’s position in the Bundesliga seems to be doubtful. The previous league game against VfL Bochum left fans with lots of questions about the team’s capacity. They did turn the tide during the midweek fixture against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League but tonight’s game against Union Berlin again brings the team back to the same question — where exactly does the problem lie within the team?
Bayern faced Union at Stadion An der Alten Försterei in what was slated to be an exciting game. Coming from the victory away at the Bay Arena, the Bavarians were heavily favored to win. What ensued was a slow burn of a game, with a frustrating performance from the Bavarians. Here are the noteworthy performers.
Jersey Swap: Christopher Trimmel
Though goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow and former Bavarian turned Union’s goalscorer Benedict Hollerbach had fantastic performances tonight, it is captain Christopher Trimmel who deserves the jersey swap. A seasoned right-back, Trimmel was key in stopping any play in the left wing. Jamal Musiala was left incapacitated and blocked by the Austrian’s timely interventions. He had a near-perfect game except for the 65th minute when he lost the ball to Joshua Kimmich.
Perhaps another contender for the jersey swap could the refereeing team, however, this remains outside the scope of tonight’s discussion.
Der Kaiser: Eric Dier
Along with Dayot Upamecano, Dier had a fantastic game in defense. In several moments when the low-lying midfield and defense of Union forced the Bavarians to give up the ball and make mistakes, but Dier teamed with Upamecano, who would retrieve the ball and stop Union’s progression. A very solid showing for the center-back duo.
Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich
In an extremely lackluster midfield, Joshua Kimmich was the better of the two. Leon Goretzka was hardly visible and had no real impact to the game. Kimmich had only a handful decent moments as his game was marred by error after error. His set pieces were an eyesore, to say the least. The team won multiple corner kicks, most of which were by taken by him. Kimmich’s bizarre choice of aiming at the near post, only for the ball to be lost in confusion within the box and then inevitably wasted was truly frustrating to watch. It is certainly a matter of concern that his performance takes such a slump right after his extension.
Der Bomber: Leroy Sané
The singular goal from the Bavarians came from Leroy Sané, who was substituted on for an extremely disappointing Serge Gnabry in the 65th minute. Sané was immediately impactful, as there began a sleuth of attacks from Bayern with the intent of scoring. In the 74th minute, courtesy of some fantastic play originating from the defense, the ball was received by Michael Olise, who then passed it on to Josip Stanišić and then finally to Sané. The German winger was perhaps the only attacker with any real threat, as the likes of Olise and Musiala were heavily subdued, Gnabry had an extremely disappointing outing and Kane continues his goalless streak.
Meister of the Match: Dayot Upamecano
There were hardly any players on the pitch who seemed to bother about the game and Dayot Upamecano was among them. The team’s less-than-satisfactory performance today would have brought far worse outcomes than the draw, had Upamecano not intervened.
The play style and motivation from the team leave a lot to be desired. It is high time manager Vincent Kompany takes a long hard look at the team’s state of affairs before their chances at the lifting the Meisterschale get compromised.
What did you think of our award selection? Who else deserves a shout? Let us know in the comments below!
