Mainz 05 did not make it easy for Bayern Munich on the road today, as Bayern’s attack was held to just two goals for the third straight match. Despite a late goal from Mainz, Bayern was able to hold on to all three points and stay level with rivals Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table.
Here are today’s awards:
Jersey Swap: Fabio Gruber
The Mainz central defender was exceptional this game. While Bayern’s attack hasn’t been scoring six or more goals in a game as of late, it takes serious effort to stop the Bavarian attack.
Gruber did as good a job as anyone in this match, preventing several more opportunities for Bayern to extend their lead.
Gruber’s four clearances, including a goal-line clearance, and four blocked shots are simply outstanding. It would be hard to find a better effort to thwart the Bayern attack than the Peruvian’s performance today.
Der Kaiser: Konrad Laimer
Many fans, including myself, have been very critical of Laimer this season. Despite all his consistency and mentality in recent years, it seems as though he lost a big edge this season. He struggled to get going, and many were quick to point out that Bayern Munich needed further investment at the right-back position.
Laimer, however, has done a complete 180 in the last four matches, putting in an arguably man-of-the-match effort in each of those outings. Does Laimer play better under Danks? Is this just a coincidence? Whatever is going on, hopefully Laimer can ride this high and reinforce the team with some much-needed consistency at the position.
Fußballgott: Lennart Karl
The highly scrutinized young talent continues his run of form in recent matches. Whatever seemed to hold Karl back at the start of the season no longer impacts him. Whether it was attitude or simply a run of bad form, Karl is showing big improvements. While he still has a long way to go in terms of becoming a complete player and a world-class threat, his moments of brilliance continue to impress.
Karl was perhaps held back by a slow day from Michael Olise and Nathaniel Brown, who failed to make the type of impact we usually see from them in attack. Perhaps Alphonso Davies is meant for the left wing, but Brown might not fit that role as well.
Der Bomber: Harry Kane
The Ballon d’Or winner delivers even when he has an off day. His scoring wasn’t on display in this match, but his role as more of a playmaking number ten is simply exceptional. While he is the best striker in the world at the moment, he could be a world-class player anywhere in the midfield as well.
It is games like this that prove Kane is a step up from what Bayern saw with Lewandowski. While Lewandowski’s scoring was simply inevitable at times, Kane is perhaps one of the most complete players the sport has ever seen. What a player. Fans are in for a treat, as Kane recently signed his extension with the club.
Meister of the Match: Joshua Kimmich
It is always fun to see Kimmich score, and what a goal he got today. The polarizing figure had an excellent performance against Mainz. Not flashy, but all business and ruthlessly efficient, he was a true master of all trades in this match, excelling in dribbling, passing, and of course, shooting.
It might be tempting to look to the future at Aleksandar Pavlović and Tom Bischof, but Kimmich is still that guy. Over the last two months or so, Kimmich has been simply outstanding. Despite the criticism of the veteran midfielder, he remains one of Bayern Munich’s best players and a world-class midfielder.
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