Following the impressive 2-0 win in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich were brought back down to earth on Saturday by a determined Union Berlin team at the An der Alten Forsterei Stadium.
The game proved to be a major letdown for Die Roten. Despite enjoying 80% ball possession, Bayern’s attack seldom clicked. They managed four shots on target in the game after attempting 18 shots. After Leroy Sané gave Die Roten a 1-0 lead in the 75th minute, the Bavarian faithful would have expected the league leaders to collect all three points. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case, as the plucky hosts were rewarded for showing resilience. They equalized in the 83rd minute after Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig flapped at and failed to collect a cross from the right. The 21-year-old Urbig shouldn’t be blamed; mistakes like this one could be put down to growing pains for such an inexperienced player. For whatever reason, most of his teammates underperformed on Saturday as well.
Courtesy of the draw, Bayern extended their lead at the top of the table to nine points, but Bayer Leverkusen can trim it to six points with a win against Stuttgart later today. Let's look at Bayern players that shown in Berlin despite a disappointing result.
Dayot Upamecano
With the attack stuttering at the other end of the pitch, Bayern’s defense needed to be in top form to avoid a potentially painful sucker punch. Despite conceding an equalizer late in the game, for the most part, the back four delivered solid performances.
Dayot Upamecano led by example at the back. The 26-year-old center-back was a mountain in defense whilst giving a near-flawless performance. With 117 touches of the ball, he was perfect with his distribution except for on one occasion. Upamecano completed 99 of his 100 attempted passes which included a perfect 6/6 on long balls and he also created a goal-scoring chance.
Out of possession, he won six of his seven contested ground duels and two of four aerial duels. He also completed eight recoveries and made three interceptions.