Bayern Munich: Top Performers from 2-1 win against Wolfsburg
Bayern Munich closed the curtain on this season’s Hinrunde with a trip to the Volkswagen Arena to take on mid-table side Wolfsburg. Despite a spirited performance from the home team, Bayern came away with a deserved 2-1 victory.
In a game in which all the Bayern players delivered commendable performances, the following three stood out more than the rest.
Dayot Upamecano
This game marked the third consecutive solid performance from Bayern’s center-back pairing of Dayot Upamecano and Kim min-jae. However, Upamecano got off to the better start and remained consistent throughout the game.
The French defender won six of his eight ground duels and had an overall pass completion rate of 97% (111/115). He was also impressive with his long-range distribution as he found his man with 10 out of 11 attempts. At times, he successfully carried the ball out of defense. It was a strong display from Upamecano over 90-plus minutes without any costly errors. Such a performance justifies the confidence that coach Thomas Tuchel has continued to place in him this season. (stats courtesy sofascore.com).
Thomas Muller
Thomas Muller gave a performance that fully justified his recent contract extension until 2025. The Bayern Munich icon just narrowly failed to open the scoring in the first half with a header that rebounded off the upright.
Muller started as the number 10 but the opposition had no answer when he switched to full Ramdeuter mode. Such was the case when he popped up on the right flank to brilliantly pick out Jamal Musiala in the box, with a perfect left-footed cross, to head home Bayern’s opening goal. For Bayern’s second goal, Muller showed his intelligence and strength, down the inside right channel, by keeping himself onside and turning his marker; requiring just three touches on the ball, before setting up Harry Kane for a spectacular strike. Muller, the provider of both goals, was at his best throughout the first half.
Unfortunately, Muller had his night cut short just after the hour-mark as the coach decided to sacrifice him to seemingly re-introduce a version of ‘Tuchel-ball’ by replacing him with Matthijis de Ligt. Fortunately, it all ended well as Bayern held on to the 2-1 lead until the end.
Jamal Musiala
The third name on this list was not an easy choice. Despite being a bit guilty of too much dribbling at times, Jamal Musiala gets the nod for nodding in Bayern’s first goal. This match was Musiala’s third consecutive start since recovering from a hamstring injury. In the previous two games, the young German international was deployed on the right wing and as the number 10. For this game, he was deployed as an inverted winger on the left.
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Musiala kept the opposition’s defense busy throughout the match. By cutting infield he opened up space for Alphonso Davies to overlap down the left. As he drifted further inward it allowed Muller to slide to the right which resulted in the opening goal. The opening goal from Musiala in minute 33 helped settle Bayern’s nerves and take control of the match. With the Bundesliga now on a break, until 12th January, Thomas Tuchel will no doubt be looking forward to even greater performances from a fit Musiala during the Ruckrunde.