On matchday five of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich hosted the reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen in a match which presented the most difficult test of the season to date for either side.
With the home team dominating the match from start to finish, Bayern fans are entitled to feel a sense of disappointment from the result, but at the same time they can still be pleased with their team’s overall performance on the evening. Coach Vincent Kompany rightfully lauded the effort of his players after match. Let us now take a look at three players whose performances arguably just edged out the performances of their teammates (all stats courtesy sofascore).
Joshua Kimmich
Once again, Joshua Kimmich gave the sort of performance that could only have encouraged his suitors as he and Aleksandar Pavlovic dominated proceedings in the middle of the park.
The Germany captain had 140 touches in the game and found a teammate with 96% of his passes (119/124). He also mixed up his game well with both short and long passes. From eight attempted long balls, only once did he not find his target. His keen sense of positioning throughout the match resulted in the opposition barely getting a sniff of the ball for long stretches of the game.
Despite a packed Leverkusen midfield, Kimmich showed great composure on the ball which contributed in large part to 69% ball possession for Die Roten. Kimmich’s consistency in central midfield so far this season is truly noteworthy considering the difficulties he endured last season.