Bayern Munich kicked off the 63rd Bundesliga season with a game at home against RB Leipzig. The stage was set for an entertaining game — Leipzig’s new squad looked rather interesting and Bayern were fresh out of the Supercup win. What ensued was an incredible display of Bavarian dominance as Bayern demolished Die Roten Bullen 6-0. Here are the match awards from the game.
Jersey Swap — Antonio Nusa
Leipzig made several mistakes and were not at their best tonight, but the cardinal sin of the night was them not starting Antonio Nusa. The Norwegian youngster was subbed on only in the second half and had an immediate impact, threatening the clean sheet. He was a constant trouble to the backline, especially Dayot Upamecano. The goal he had in the 68th minute (which was later disallowed) was from an incredibly difficult situation, and it is testament to what he is capable of, even at such a young age. Recovering lost possession, pushing to press, and finding areas to score from, he did it all, and Leipzig might just have started drafting a hefty release clause after tonight.
Der Kaiser — Jonathan Tah
Bayern needed someone to complement Dayot Upamecano, and the answer was Jonathan Tah. The duo of Tah and Upamecano have developed a perfect understanding, which enables them to utilize each other’s strengths effectively. Whether it be Tah’s physicality, or his aerial abilities, they meshed well with the Frenchman’s pace and intelligence, helping create a tight seal around Leipzig’s attack.
Kim Min-Jae had a brief stint in which he was phenomenal, and it really looks like times are changing for the Korean. However, Tah takes a slight edge in terms of his overall contributions.
Additionally, it looks like Josip Stanišić might be returning to form, with a great performance at left-back, and Konrad Laimer as always, was lethal in his tie-up with Michael Olise in the right flank. The right flank also featured another interesting character in…
Der Fussballgott — Joshua Kimmich
Leon Goretzka was great, even after getting hit, but Kimmich!
It seems as though Joshua Kimmich has gone from midfield to the backline. He is positioned a bit more to the right, and in build-up, the team develops a backline of Upa, Tah, and Kimmich, as Laimer and Stanišić progress forward.
However, for the sake of discussion, Kimmich is still a midfielder, who just happens to drop back to man the backline to create a back three. What really makes sense in this, is that Kimmich is now in a position to recover lost balls, handle any sticky situations with opposition wingers and he happens to do it from a place he knows well. It is almost like he now has a bird’s eye view of the game, enabling him to pick out the best targets for the passes. In essence, what the German was supposed to do in midfield, he does it in a slightly different position. And truly, it does not matter where he does it from because he looks absolutely terrific.
Aleksander Pavlović looked solid too in his stint as he replaced Goretzka. The injury does not seem to have taken too much of a toll on him.
Der Bomber — Serge Gnabry
As fantastic as Luis Díaz and Michael Olise were, and even with Lennart Karl all set to shine and shock, the true shock of the night was a reborn man in Serge Gnabry.
After having been the subject of criticism nearly all-season for underdelivering, Gnabry suddenly rose from the ashes, as he put up an incredible performance. He played a truly unselfish game, no longer attempting to take shots from bizarre positions he cannot take from. Every pass, he managed to pick out the right players to progress the ball in the final third and it was even more shocking to see him fighting for the ball back, and initiating counters.
Olise had a phenomenal game with the brace, and Lucho was terrific, scoring his second goal with Bayern, but Gnabry’s motto this season seems to be Ex mortis, vita. And we are all here for it.
Meister of the Match — Harry Kane
Writing about Bayern does not get any more difficult. Following incredible performances from nearly every player on the pitch, it is rather difficult to choose one, but tonight, there is only one option for MoTM.
Kane bagged the perfect hattrick — one goal after the other starting from the 64th minute, then one at the 74th and then in the 77th minute. His performance truly deserves its own set of discussions. The attempt will be to simply scratch the surface for now.
All game, Kane played from much deeper than the rest of the attack. The most advanced positions were generally held by Olise and Díaz, followed by Laimer, Gnabry and Stanišić. And then lay Kane and Goretzka. The English skipper played as deep as a #6 would, which is far too deep for a striker, and the furthest he has ever positioned himself in a game. While this seemed like a bizarre set-up, it made more sense as the game went on.
The midfield battles were constantly fought by the striker, who seemed hell-bent in proving he could play attack, midfield, or defense. Hand him the gloves, he might even steal Neuer’s job!
He was constantly ensuring the ball got to those in the flanks, while still remaining in a more seemingly latent position. But this notion of latency changed, as he begun scoring. The first goal at the 64th was a terrific right-foot shot he’d taken, after having escaped the defender on him. Secondly, at the 74th, he again loses his marker, finds Díaz’s ball and sends the ball, bottom corner from outside the box. The goal probability statistic showed a shocking 3% for that one. And of course, he had to prove that his left foot, just as good, with that third goal.
Kane is easily among the best strikers Bayern has had, in terms of how incredibly composed he is, how comfortable he is scoring from virtually anywhere and most importantly, his eye for the ball. Certainly, a partnership is building with Díaz and the duo might just walk home with a Champions League trophy, if all goes well this season.
What do you think about the awards? Who else do you think deserved a shout? Let us know in the comments!