Bayern Munich rescued a sketchy start and ultimately steamrolled an SC Freiburg side that ran out of energy.
These were the standout players.
Jersey Swap: Johan Manzambi
The Freiburg midfielder brought a seemingly endless amount of
energy to the midfield, making it very difficult for Bayern to find time and space to play through the ‘Breisgau-Brasilianer’ low-block. Manzambi even managed to jot his name on the scoresheet in the 17th minute after directing his header past Manuel Neuer into the back of the net.
Had it not been for Bayern’s eventual dominance, it would have been a game to remember for the Swiss footballer. However, ‘Die Rekordmeister’ took the bull by the horns in the second half, and made Manzambi, as well as Freiburg’s, first half performance a distant memory.
Der Kaiser: Dayot Upamecano
Among one of Vincent Kompany’s strengths as a manager is his ability to get the best out of his players. Kompany has unlocked a whole different level to Dayot Upamecano.
The French center-back has always been on the cusp of being a world-class defender, but, a few niggling mistakes — and perhaps a lack of goal output from set pieces if you’re really being critical — have always held Upamecano back from breaking through to the next level. However, Kompany’s arrival in Munich has proved to be the hot iron smoothing out whatever wrinkles Upamecano had left in his game.
Defensively, Bayern weren’t amazing today, particularly in the opening twenty minutes. However, Upamecano did well to stabilize the back line, providing the solid base needed for Bayern to launch their attacks. The Frenchman even chipped in with a goal from fellow countryman, Michael Olise’s 55th minute corner.
Just give him the new contract already.
Fußballgott: Aleksandar Pavlović
While Bayern’s latest academy prospect, Lennart Karl, has been stealing the headlines, Pavlović is slowly growing into every bit of the midfielder that the club has been hoping for.
Positional intelligence, passing range and physicality, Pavlović offers everything you want from a midfielder. The midfielder’s passing in particular stood out against a stubborn, low-block Freiburg defense. Where other players often opted for the easy pass, Pavlović always looked to pass forwards and progress the play. Invaluable, especially in the absence of Joshua Kimmich.
The 21-year-old midfielder is finally getting back to his best after suffering a stress fracture in his foot late last season. While Bayern fans have been fixated on Karl’s meteoric rise, Pavlović has proved to be another perfect example of successful youth integration at Bayern.
Der Bomber: Lennart Karl
In Bayern’s pre-match press conference Vincent Kompany was questioned about the comparisons drawn between Lennart Karl and Lionel Messi. Kompany may have to get used to the comparisons because after the 17-year-old wonder kid’s performance against SC Freiburg they are only going to become more frequent.
Karl was undeniably Bayern’s best player in the first half. No, this is not hype. It’s the truth. While Olise eventually picked up four more goal contributions than the young German, Karl was the heartbeat of nearly every single Bayern attack. In the first 38 minutes of the game, Bayern had only taken two shots. Both of them by Karl. An early statement of intent, and an indicator of the absolute havoc the attacker was ready to wreak on the Freiburg defense.
The fact the little magician, who is by trade a right-winger, was deployed in attacking-midfield made absolutely no difference and if anything allowed Karl to see more of the ball — to the dismay of Freiburg’s defense. Karl capped a marvelous display with Bayern’s opening goal of the game as well as an assist for Olise’s crucial goal to bring the game to 2-2 going into half time. Karl was even unlucky not to have bagged a second after his strike in the 51st minute was disallowed.
If it wasn’t glaringly obvious by now, Lennart Karl is the real deal.
Meister of the Match: Michael Olise
If you want to know who the best right-winger is in the world, then you need look no further than at Bayern’s right-hand flank, because that’s exactly where you will find Michael Olise.
With two goals and three assists today, the French winger was involved in a whopping five of Bayern’s six goals against Freiburg. At this point you may as well change his name to King Midas because everything Olise touches seems to turn to gold. Heck, at this point nobody would bat an eye if you called him the best player in the world, because he may just be.
After his ten out of ten performance against Freiburg, Olise takes his tally to six goals and six assists in eleven Bundesliga appearances. Scary numbers, and only made sweeter when you consider that Bayern only paid €60m to sign the Frenchman from Crystal Palace. A fee that now looks like peanuts compared to the near six hundred million figures quoted for players half Olise’s quality.
As much stick as Bayern’s recruitment has gotten in the last few years, Olise has been a perfect signing for a Bayern side crying out for rejuvenation on the wings. Now, with Luis Díaz on the left and Michael Olise on the right, consider the flanks rejuvenated.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
