Match Awards from Bayern Munich’s sluggish 1-0 win over Wolfsburg
· Yahoo Sports
Bayern Munich limped across the finish line with a 1-0 road win over Wolfsburg. The meaningless win saw Michael Olise curl a masterful shot over Kamil Grabara in the 56th minute as the lone goal in a game that saw 13 combined saves. Bayern was often lackadaisical on both sides of the pitch, lacking quality and precision, but ultimately holding on for the victory.
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Jersey Swap: Patrick Wimmer
This is a bit of a controversial choice because it is more of an “eye test” selection rather than raw numbers. The 24-year old Austrian midfielder provided a number of smooth passes that opened up space for Wolfsburg’s attack and created high quality chances. On the defensive end, he constantly stymied Nicolas Jackson and Jamal Musiala when they cut in from Bayern’s left flank looking for a shot but ran into the brick wall of Wimmer instead.
It was a shame that Wimmer’s night ended early in tears when Vinicius’ late challenge on Harry Kane took out Wimmer, too.
Der Kaiser: Kim Min-jae
On the other end of the spectrum, Kim earned this award purely by the numbers. Despite being under fire for the entire first half, Kim helped the defense keep a clean sheet with three blocked shots, two interceptions, two clearances (including one off the goal line), and a 96% passing rate on 65 touches.
At 29-years -old, Kim is still mentally struggling with the up-tempo pace of the Bundesliga. He tends to overcompensate with excessive effort that puts him in precarious positions. Nonetheless, he had a better night than the rest of the defenders.
Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich
It was a pretty lazy outing for most of Bayern’s starters, but Kimmich looked relatively fresh moving the ball around to secure Bayern’s 69% possession rate that gradually wore down Wolfsburg. The captain covered a lot of ground and kept the engine running. Tom Bischof was permitted the freedom to roam around the pitch and Kimmich did a fantastic job reading Bischof’s movements to maintain a healthy shape.
Der Bomber: Michael Olise
To be perfectly clear, Olise only earned this award because he had a singular moment of brilliance that ultimately proved to be the key moment in the game. Against a reeling relegation side, Bayern’s offense was lazy, inefficient, and severely lacking in creativity.
Olise did not put any defenders on skates or break their ankles. Harry Kane did not convert a penalty kick. Jamal Musiala did not turn the opponents into a bunch of gargoyles with highlight reel plays. Nicolas Jackson did not poach a goal because he was out of position. Luis Díaz and Lennart Karl did not bring any extra energy off the bench.
Granted this was a throwaway game, Bayern could have blown off a bunch of steam with a 5-0 rout that kept them on pace for the all-time scoring record. Instead, the PSG hangover was in full effect and the biggest losers were the spectators.
Meister of the Match: Jonas Urbig
Truth be told, Jonas Urbig was the leading candidate for every Bayern award at the halftime whistle. As a defender, he delivered a variety of saves off his face, fingertips, and every other body part. He was the lead distributor in the midfielder with his dangerous darts that constantly left Wolfsburg’s defense with zero time to react. Given the ineptitude of the entire offense, Urbig seemed just as likely to score as anybody else.
The stats showed that Wolfsburg’s xG was well over three goals but somehow Urbig held the clean sheet with five saves. This is the kind of magic that Manuel Neuer produced for most of his career that endeared him to Bayern fans.
Urbig turns 23 in August and has a reasonable opportunity to become the number one goalkeeper for Bayern and Germany over the next decade. He has the core skill set to succeed with both squads. He only lacks the experience to avoid some of the mental mistakes.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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