Bayern Munich's three standout performers from win over Benfica
By Tom Vinall
On Wednesday night, Bayern recorded a much needed win in the UEFA Champions League, overcoming Portuguese giants Benfica in a hard-fought game at the Allianz Arena, courtesy of a second-half header from Jamal Musiala - who has added headers to his arsenal so far this season.
Despite the game being a tough watch, there were some stand out players for Bayern on the night. Let's take a dive into who they were, and what made their performances so good.
1) Kim-Min Jae
To begin, the best player on the pitch - Kim-Min Jae. The South Korean defender was a colossus at the back for Bayern. He did not have much to do, but when he did, he did it superbly. During the second-half, whilst the game was still 0-0, Benfica sprung a counter-attack, leaving Greek forward Vangelis Pavlidis isolated with Kim and running towards the Bayern goal.
In that moment, you began to fear the worst, but Kim pulled off an expertly timed slide tackle to prevent the forward galloping towards Manuel Neuer. If he had got it wrong, it would have been a straight red card, and Bayern would have been starting down the barrel of three games without a win in Europe, and quite possibly three defeats in a row.
Within ten minutes, Bayern had the lead, thanks to Musiala. The attackers will get the headlines, but the platform to do so would not have been possible without Kim. The number three recorded; three clearances, one interception, six tackles, 125 touches, 113/113 passes, 4/4 long balls, and 6/6 ground duels. Just an excellent performance from a colossal defender.
If Bayern are to have this level of performance at their disposal all season, they must manage his workload carefully. You are probably tired of reading this point, but you can bet Kim is even more tired of his minutes. Over the forthcoming international break, Kim is set to accumulate over 24,000 miles, as well as 180 minutes of football and a lot of jet lag.
Fortunately, it seems like Kompany is conscious of this, and has looked to substitute his key man if and when possible towards the end of games where Bayern have comfortable leads.