Bayern Munich’s historic record came to a crashing halt as Alten Försterei showed it can only glow red for Union Berlin. The Rekordmeister walked into the game wiped by exhaustion and with several of its
senior players looking desperately in need of a break. Union showed what exactly what they were capable of doing on their home turf, giving Bayern a run for their money and record. A brace from Danilo Doekhi, a disallowed goal by a margin from birthday boy Ilyas Ansah (happy 21!) and a game that was salvaged by dint of a fierce second half fight from the Bavarians certainly leaves a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it.
Jersey Swap — Danilho Doekhi
Back in 2022, Union Berlin, enjoying a fine few seasons under then-manager Urs Fischer, purchased Danilho Doekhi from Dutch club Vitesse. As someone who has closely observed Doekhi since then, I can say for a fact he has evolved into a special a talent as Union believed he could be back then. He was compared to his fellow countryman Virgil van Dijk and though he was largely a defensive minded player, his attacking attributes have come to light of late and it is fair to say that comparison holds up well.
Doekhi’s brace was extraordinary and particularly, I would like to draw attention to his second goal. The Dutchman was truly at the right place at the right time but most importantly, gave the right reaction. Turning a poorly cleared ball from Harry Kane into a goal, he made it 2-2 for die Eisernen. Five goals so far this season already, that as a defender? This guy is genuinely going places.
Der Kaiser — Dayot Upamecano
It is fair to say that this game was truly not it for Bayern. Hardly anyone looked like they had the energy to be playing. But Dayot Upamecano genuinely gave his all to the game, with an excellent outing and the stats speak for it. With close to ten perfect clearances and tackles, winning almost all of his duels and an astonishing 90% percent in pass accuracy, Upamecano salvaged the game. Pocketing the attackers and covering for everyone else’s mistakes is not for everyone. It’s an UpaMachine only thing.
Der Fussballgott — Joshua Kimmich
Joshua Kimmich does it yet again — an above average performance while babysitting Leon Goretzka. Goretzka played like the game was only against Khedira, while Kimmich played key progressive passing and ensured the ball stayed within Bavarian possession. He constantly pushed high in passing (with pitch perfect passing accuracy too), while also occasionally covering for defense. Bypassing Union constantly with several long balls and overlapping with wingers on counters, Kimmich made the attack happen tonight.
However, it is perhaps noteworthy that Kimmich may have been partially responsible for the Doekhi goal in the second half, as he was positioned too high up to help out Goretzka.
Der Bomber — Luis Díaz
The front four who started the game did nothing short of disappoint for the most part. While one can say Harry Kane is equally as deserving, it is important that this game simply would not have not gone the way it did, had Díaz not scored.
He has everything to him that Bayern needs in a left-winger — the pace, the ability to beat defenders (hello, Tom Rothe) and the kind of footwork that can make a grown (wo)man sob tears of joy. I think we can all agree that the soul of Thomas Müller entered Díaz during the first goal. Watch closely.
At the edge of the box, Lucho passes the ball to Josip Stanisic, who then gets the ball back to a running Lucho who was headed to the far left. In true Müller fashion, the Colombian slides and keeps the ball within play, and from the far left, scores like a true #25 and makes it 1-1 for Bayern.
Truly one of the best wingers in the world right now, if not for the fact that he blows the simplest of chances.
Meister of the Match — Tom Bischof
Before you come for my neck, hear me out.
Yes, I am a Tom Bischof fan. Yes, this sounds wildly overblown. But genuinely, hear me out.
Bischof did in 15 minutes what no other player had done for the past 80 — make an actual impact. Case in point: Leon Goretzka just had an awful game, and Konrad Laimer looked exhausted and could not provide his usual impact, and even struggled against Jeong. The 20-year-old midfielder-turned-fullback took the Konrad Laimer pipeline and made it look easy. That curler from outside the box was so simple, yet lethally sharp and directly exactly at Kane, who then headed the ball into the net. That, is the class and skill of a player who deserves man of the match.
The youngster has genuinely not gotten one thing wrong since the season began and yet has not received the kind of gametime he deserves. Make it make sense.
What do you think about the awards? Who else do you think deserved a shout? Let us know in the comments!
