Match awards from Bayern Munich’s nervy 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund

The international break is over and German fans have breathed a sigh of relief at no longer seeing Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade spoiling their evenings. The break was followed by Germany’s biggest match, The classicfeaturing eternal table rivals Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Niko Kovac’s Dortmund were in good form, having drawn 1-1 against third-placed RB Leipzig. Bayern, on the other hand, were having the time of their lives with Harry Kane playing at the highest level. This was surely going to be a huge match for both teams.

What followed was a tale of two halves – a clearly dominant Bayern taking an early first-half lead via corners. However, Dortmund decided to be dirty and defensive, preventing any form of movement from Bayern in the second half. Bayern scored an additional goal in the second half, but failed due to defensive lapses and conceded late in the match. This goal did not change much, since Bayern still left with three points and a home victory. Here are the rewards for a rather lukewarm performance from Bayern.

Jersey exchange — Julian Brandt

You would have thought that Dortmund were far from the team capable of making a last-minute effort to win the match, but the team had the quality to surprise anyone. That’s precisely what they set out to do from the start of the second half. Although they made almost no attempts at goal and were quickly pushed back by the Bavarian defense, all that would change following a small oversight by Bayern towards the end of the match.

Julian Brandt embodied the concept of a super-sub, as he came on and scored within seconds. Dayot Upamecano, who was caught loitering, left a massive space which was easily exploited by Julian Ryerson, who made a faultless pass. Additionally, Brandt was free enough to run into the left half-space and receive the ball. He took advantage and scored instantly. It was a classic Dortmund counter and goal – using an unguarded half-space and moving quickly to score. While it wasn’t enough to win, it softened the blow Dortmund had suffered from their otherwise abysmal performance.

The Kaiser — Konrad Laimer

It was a rather atypical play from Laimer. The Austrian, who constantly overlaps the attackers in other matches, hardly ventures forward, playing a more defensive role than usual. He makes a few key tackles and regains possession.

But the question of the day: “if he was a left-back, how did he behave against Serhou Guirassy?

Well, not bad at all. Containing Guirassy was a team effort, with Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović taking turns alongside Upamecano. Laimer was especially present every time the Guinean tried to venture into wider spaces. All of Laimer’s tackles and interceptions were against key moves in Dortmund’s attack and he managed to almost completely neutralize Guirassy. Although it wasn’t an offensive performance like Laimer usually puts on, he still played pretty well. Where he could have improved was in his recovery runs – a little more pace could have avoided momentary mistakes. Additionally, Laimer really needed to be a little quicker to act against players like Brandt. It was an otherwise solid effort from the Austrian.

Der Fußballgott — Aleksandar Pavlović

Dortmund rarely went into transition as they were mainly busy playing as defensively as possible. However, when they tried to get something out of the ball, they were met with a rude shock: a certain Aleksandar Pavlović who had made it his mission to ruin their day. He slipped and grabbed the ball from the men in yellow on several occasions. He notably committed a crucial foul against Julian Brandt at the end of the match.

Although he played much less intensely than usual, his conservative passing remained precise while breaking lines and pushing for counters. It was his constant presence that allowed Kimmich to slip in and settle into a more defensive role with the back line. It would not be surprising if he succeeds Leon Goretzka in the starting position, because he fully deserves it.

The Bomber — Michael Olise

Michael Olise may have had one of his worst games late – wildly indecisive in the final third, missing shots he is otherwise known for being capable of taking. Perhaps the exhaustion of the international break caught up with the wingers, as both suffered from the same problems and had quite similar performances. However, where Olise ranked higher than Luis Díaz was in terms of production.

The goal scored by Olise was extremely crucial – it came late in the second half, when Bayern badly needed a second goal to consolidate their victory. Kane collected the ball from deep in the field and played it long to Díaz, who then assisted Olise to score the goal.

A world in which Olise is better on his weak foot would be ideal, but for now we may just have to take advantage of his otherwise excellent performances.

Match Master – Harry Kane

Harry Kane has, at this point, done everything for Bayern except pull on the gloves and steal Manuel Neuer’s job.

It’s impossible for one man to be everywhere on the pitch, but Kane has time and time again made the impossible look like child’s play, breaking records and moving from striker to midfielder to box-to-box to defender.

In an otherwise disappointing Bayern match, Kane shined. He looked barely strained despite coming off the international break and put in more work than ever asked of a striker, especially one of his caliber.

A dominant first half from Bayern saw the opening goal, scored by Kane from a Joshua Kimmich corner. Kane managed to recover the ball as Serhou Guirassy was right in front of him and headed towards the net. In the second half, where Bayern seemed unhappy, it was still Kane and Pavlovic who fought to recover the ball and make it count.

Bayern Munich got off to a good start in their 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the last edition of The classicbut it was a nervous ending for the Bavarians.

The home side appeared to wear down and wither under Borussia Dortmund’s pressure as the match wore on, but it was a valiant effort to even preserve victory in what many would consider a shaky second half. Head coach Vincent Kompany will have to find a way to deal with his boys’ weariness, but for now, let’s talk about how it all played out.

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