Bayern Munich went through the worst week recently — Vincent Kompany’s illness and subsequent hospitalization, and multiple absences in the squad. However, in honor of the recovering manager, assistant manager Aaron Danks brought home three points in his first game as interim manager. While a thin squad and thin bench had many worrying about Bayern’s capabilities, the team put all worries to rest as they won comfortably away at the Europa Park Stadium. Here are the awards from the 3-1 win against
SC Freiburg.
Jersey Swap: Yuito Suzuki
The Japanese attacker has been attracting attention from the likes of AC Milan and has been making a very strong case to earn himself a big-money move with four goals so far in seven games. Tonight was perhaps a dent in Suzuki’s case for a transfer. The 25-year-old simply could not keep up with Bayern despite earnest attempts at goal, in the final third, and solid work in 1v1 duels.
However, a player who was slightly disappointing was German international Phillip Treu. Barring his passing, he put forth a rather mediocre performance.
Der Kaiser: Dayot Upamecano
I know, he was MOTM, but hear me out, I have a different candidate in mind for that.
There is a reason Dayot Upamecano is the only player who has started all seven games in the Bundesliga so far. The Ballon d’Or nominee tonight was a standout in defense for multiple reasons.
First, the goal he scored. Upamecano made an incredibly crucial block in Bayern’s box right before the counter was set up. Leading up to the goal, he made an incredible 70-meter sprint to the box, beating every opponent, and got the ball past Mio Backhaus. A goal of such quality — you’d expect it from an attacker.
Second, his passing. Not a single missed pass, and immaculate touches. His pass accuracy beats most on the pitch at a whopping 92%, and with 83 touches, he recorded the maximum touches among every player on both sides. He made close to ten passes into the final third and held onto possession like it was his own life. He also made a few crucial clearances and recoveries. Bayern’s possession-based control tonight can be wholly attributed to the fantastic job by the midfield and defense. Upamecano, in true Bayern fashion, is the perfect attacking center-back — reliable in both attack and defense. Perhaps the only room for improvement lies in his 1v1 duels.
Der Fussballgott: Konrad Laimer
It could have been Bischof — except he scored that own goal. Yikes.
Konrad Laimer started at defensive midfield, an expected outcome of the player shortage. Joshua Kimmich is in mourning, Aleksandar Pavlović picked up an injury, and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye is in the hospital for an appendectomy.
With the ball, Laimer is among the best full-backs in Europe. A player with a strong attacking profile, Laimer’s skill sets as a former destroyer come in clutch — he’s an excellent passer and maintained possession exceptionally well. One might expect possession to tank in Kimmich’s absence, but Laimer took care of that. In the midfield, the Austrian does not have the liberty to move forward like he usually does and therefore did not involve himself as much in the final third. However, without the ball, he put up a rather disappointing performance, and it became evident why he will not be the starting option — losing nearly every single 1v1 duel and getting dribbled past on multiple occasions is not a good look.
With decent passing stats and the glaring absence of an own goal on the scoresheet, Laimer wins it over Bischof.
Der Bomber: Michael Olise
Oh, great, Olise’s going for that Employee of the Month meme from Spongebob.
SIX GOALS. That’s how many Michael Olise has scored since the start of the season.
Olise’s credits begin with the first goal — the one he set up for Dayot Upamecano to score. The attacker is exceptional at setting up goals, and this one, well, it deserves to be framed. There is more to his credit — a last-minute goal to seal Bayern’s win, five chances, and three big chances. Perhaps keeper Backhaus will meet Olise again in his dreams — the goal the Frenchman scored came from Backhaus’ error and happened in mere seconds. Olise isn’t a particularly fantastic dribbler like Musiala, but his reaction time makes him equally dangerous.
He was not stand-out every second of the game, but he came through when it was needed.
Meister of the Match: Jonas Urbig
You had to be there for the… entire second half actually.
Four saves, innumerable ball recoveries, and an incredible second-half performance from Jonas Urbig secured the win for Bayern. Bischof may have done his teammate a huge disservice with an own goal, but the keeper ensured that would be the only goal Freiburg could claim.
The home side was on high alert in the second half and in desperate need of goals. They were quick to dispossess Bayern and outpace the defense to get into scoring positions. Unfortunately for them, Urbig had an excellent game. What makes him reliable isn’t just his shot-stopping — it is the fact that he is far more conservative than Manuel Neuer and does not play sweeper that often.
Bayern put themselves at risk on multiple occasions in the second half, and it was the valiant effort of Jonas Urbig that kept them from losing or drawing.
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