Bayern Munich found the first half of their DFB Pokal final clash against VFB Stuttgart very tough going and struggled to make much of anything happen. But they ultimately outlasted Die Schwäben and rode a strong defensive performance along with some outstanding goals from Harry Kane to a 3-0 victory. Here are the awards:
Jersey Swap: Maximilian Mittelstädt
VFB Stuttgart enjoyed an outstanding first half and completely suffocated Bayern. They won more of the challenges, had more of the ball and barely
allowed the Bavarians to even leave their half. But they failed to create many real goal scoring opportunities from all that dominance. Whenever they did create opportunities, however, Maximilian Mittelstädt was in the center of it all. He created two shots and had two of his own. The closest Stuttgart got to overcoming Jonas Urbig in goal was the left back’s shot from outside of the box that hurtled towards the bottom corner and forced a great save from Bayern’s No. 40.
He was not just useful in attack, however. He won an incredible 10 of 11 duels at the back and covered large amounts of ground on the left. Mittelstädt did a great job of shaking off the disappointment of not making the Germany squad, but it was not enough to beat Bayern.
Der Kaiser: Dayot Upamecano
Dayot Upamecano delivered a truly phenomenal performance on the night. He was Bayern’s best player in a turgid first half, constantly winning his challenges and keeping Stuttgart away from the DFB Pokal champions’ goal. Stuttgart’s constant pressure and excellent cover at the back necessitated some excellent passing through the lines to overcome. None of the rest of Bayern players participating in the build up managed to pull these sort of passes off, but the Frenchman delivered several excellent passes that the forwards were not able to take advantage of.
But Upamecano’s excellent performance in the first half pales in comparison to his second half performance. He did everything. He won every challenge, dominated large areas on his own, every pass found its target (while multiple of those passes were truly world class and split Stuttgart), and he even started the second goal with an excellent foray up the field. This was a legendary performance from the oft maligned Frenchman. He did everything but put the ball into the back of the net himself. He was so close to becoming Man of the Match, but the heroics of another unfortunately slightly edged him out of that award.
Der Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich
None of the midfielders were very good in the first half as Stuttgart did an excellent job of harrying Bayern and choked every available space. Joshua Kimmich was the only one to emerge with any real credit. He was often forced into uncomfortable positions by the Stuttgart press, deprived of any option, but knew exactly how long to carry the ball and when to release it to still find his opponent. As the rest of his teammates, he truly blossomed in the second half and led the demolition of Stuttgart with his usual precision on the ball, finishing with a 91% passing accuracy despite the opposition pressure.
Der Bomber: Michael Olise
In something of a running theme, Michael Olise was probably the forward that emerged from the first half with the most amount of credit. He very rarely got the ball, but he always protected it very well and made it near impossible for the opposition to get it from him.
When Bayern started overrunning Stuttgart in the second half, he was released from his shackles and dominated the match. The incredibly crucial opening goal was his and his alone, despite Harry Kane scoring the goal, not only drawing the foul from which the goal came but also providing the assist, getting the better of Ramon Hendriks on the left before floating in a beautiful pass with his right foot. In a match where Stuttgart did so well to keep him from scoring his standard curler from outside of the box, the Frenchman showed his incredible versatility by simply going to the byline and using his right foot. What can the unplayable 24-year-old not do?
Man of the Match: Harry Kane
Harry Kane actually had a poor first half, dropping far too deep, causing Bayern to miss his focal point up front. When he did get to pass from deep, his passing was atypically poor.
But the beauty of being a striker is that the bad moments quickly forgotten when one produces moments of quality. And did Kane ever do that. He was finally in the right place to firmly head Olise’s cross in for the first goal, before he showed just inevitable he is with the second goal. Kane’s shot from outside of the box had no right to get as close to going in as it did, bouncing off of the bar after an outrageous curler from England’s captain, but Kane just shrugged the near miss off to receive the ball again, execute a perfect spin with the ball and find the back of the net without looking up at all. The sign of a perfect striker. That Kane got the chance to complete his hat-trick and take the match ball home with him on the night that he won his first ever cup competition was just fitting.
Again, Upamecano was so close to winning this award, but the heroic hat-trick hero Harry had to win it in the end.
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…
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
