clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Match awards from Bayern Munich's 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund

The first Der Klassiker of the season goes to Bayern!

DORTMUND, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 04: Supporters of Bayern display a banner before the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Muenchen at Signal Iduna Park on November 4, 2017 in Dortmund, Germany. Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images

Jersey Swap: Christian Pulisic. From an overall underwhelming performance from Borussia Dortmund, Pulisic was one of the only players that who constantly posed a threat for the home side. His pace saw him constantly get in behind and run past Joshua Kimmich towards Bayern's penalty area and whip in dangerous balls. Each player in Bayern's back-line was guilty, at least once or twice of getting burned by Pulisic. Dortmund's consolation goal in the 88th minute via a wonderful strike from Marc Bartra came as a result of a fine sequence of dribbling from Pulisic where he made it out of a three-vs-one situation near the corner flag, nutmegging Arjen Robben in the process; the effort from Pulisic underlined his overall commitment on the night.

Tip of the Cap: James Rodriguez. Deployed in the midfield three just behind Robert Lewandowski alongside Arjen Robben and Kingsley Coman, James looked to be in more of his natural position. He was tasked with playing a false 9 role of sorts against Celtic, but he looked much more in his element in his favored attacking midfield role against Dortmund. He showed magnificent skill and awareness when he took down Thiago Alcantara's lofted ball into the box with his chest in the 16th minute to set up Robben for Bayern's opening goal. James also displayed his tactical expertise as he was constantly interchanging flanks with both Robben and Coman, and he would also drop a bit deeper at times, too, to provide an option when Bayern were passing their way out of the back. On the official stats sheet, James boasted a pass completion rate of 96%, second only to Arturo Vidal, who only played a total of 9 minutes.

Golf Clap: Arjen Robben. This man absolutely never stops working and he just always seems to want to get on the ball, and he was positive against Dortmund. Take nothing away from his finessed finish for Bayern's opening goal in the 16th minute; the layoff from James was slightly behind him, but Robben showed great technique to let the ball roll across his body and square up a curling effort that fizzed into the back of Roman Burki's goal. He boasted a pass completion rate of 89%, making a total of 3 key passes, the joint second most in the match alongside Pulisic; only Dortmund's Gonzalo Castro had more (4). For someone who's pushing 34, Robben has certainly been playing with the energy more like he's 26, and he's been a key part of Bayern's success since Jupp Heynckes took over.

Standing Ovation: Kingsley Coman. Coman was a constant threat down the wide flanks and gave both Marc Bartra and Marcel Schmelzer plenty to deal with. The French international used his pace to his advantage out wide to glide past Dortmund’s defenders and he really did look as if he was going to be the player to either provide the opening goal, or assist for Bayern. He did exceptionally well with his hold up play, too, and would get Dortmund players to commit in defense, especially when Alaba would make his overlapping runs, which would always leave space for Bayern players to run in to. His final crosses into the box could still do with some improvement, but the way in which he's able to either turn his defenders or use his pace to burst past them is quite exceptional; he quite often got around Bartra with ease.

Meister of the Match: Robert Lewandowski. After being left out of the firing line for Bayern's midweek clash against Celtic as a precaution, Robert Lewandowski marked his return with a strong performance a goal to go with it. He arguably could've had too, but he was officially recorded not to have gotten a touch on David Alaba's 67th minute ball that wound up in the back of the net. His presence in his customary number 9 role brought back the even flow to Bayern's attack that had been missing during the match against Celtic - they looked a different side playing without a natural striker up top. Lewandowski showed some real craft and creativeness with his silky, flicked finish in the 37th minute, though he did get slightly fortunate with the deflection off of Julian Weigl. It very easily could've been a hat-trick for Lewandowski with the amount of chances he created, but the very fact that he was getting the chances is its own form of refreshing.

Bonus: Sven Ulreich deserves some more credit

Sven Ulreich's spike in confidence is clearly noticeable and the scoreline could've been a lot closer had Ulrecih not pulled off a number of fine saves to deny Dortmund. He did incredibly well to make himself big and deny Andriy Yarmolenko in a one-vs-one situation in the 44th minute in what was perhaps his most important save of the match just before the halftime interval.

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Bavarian Football Works Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of Bayern Munich news from Bavarian Football Works