On Matchday 17 of this Bundesliga season, the calendar year rolled to an end with FC Bayern Munich hosting VfL Wolfsburg. Bayern stood their ground to end the year on a positive note with a game that barred many goals. These are my top three player performances in Bayern’s 4-0 win over Wolfsburg.
Manuel Neuer
In the game against Wolfsburg, keeper Manuel Neuer was able to bag a well-deserved clean sheet, making it his sixth of the season. Even though Wolfsburg lacked much of an attacking threat, Neuer still played a massive role in this match. The game easily could have been drawn level from Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst in the eighth minute, but a brilliant save from Neuer kept Bayern ahead.
It is also important to note that in Bayern’s third goal of the game, it was Neuer’s throw that found Serge Gnabry in tons of space to set up Leroy Sane for a quick goal. Overall, a quiet, yet crucial performance from the man between the sticks, Manuel Neuer.
Dayot Upamecano
The best defender on the field today was hands-down Dayot Upamecano. His work defensively and offensively lands him perfectly on this list. This game was a great show of play for Upamecano, being his first game for a while with no true defensive errors.
His excellent display of strength forced any Wolfsburg player to run at him to the left or right of the field, giving them very little shooting opportunities. On the offensive side, Upamecano grabbed his first goal with Die Roten with a brilliant header that dropped the ball into the bottom left of the net. A rock-solid day for Dayot Upamecano.
Thomas Muller
Another matchday, another masterclass performance from Thomas Muller. It seems with each minute played, Muller keeps getting better and better, and this game was no exception. Within seven minutes, Muller was able to score Bayern’s first goal of the day, giving his team a quick boost right from the start. His positioning throughout the entirety of this game was the definition of “right place right time”, with his well-constructed dummy runs, his through balls, and his ability to take up so much space is like no other– not to mention his delivery for Upamecano’s goal with his perfectly lifted cross. With a goal and an assist, this performance definitely grants Thomas Muller with my Man of the Match award.
A 4-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg was an excellent way to close out the calendar year. Now we wait to see FC Bayern Munich in their return game on Jan. 7th against Borussia Monchengladbach in their first game of the new year.