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It was a great match altogether. It was a tough start for die Roten, but they managed to repel Frankfurt’s efforts and came out on top in the end. The defense did a good job and keeps getting better and better. Bayern Munich’s midfield turned out pretty solid today, even though most of the regular midfielders are injured. But some players stood out more than others and here they are!
Jersey swap: Sebastien Haller
The Frenchman put out a solid performance today, but unluckily for him, Niklas Süle and Jerome Boateng kept a good watch over him. Throughout the game he was active and quite often dangerous. He had one dangerous shot, but luckily for Neuer it was blocked. Although throughout the season he has scored 9 goals and given 8 assists, today his efforts were successfully stopped by the Bavarian defense.
Tip of the cap: Manuel Neuer
It is a perfect ending of the half-season for Bayern’s keeper and captain — he now has managed to keep 4 clean sheets in a row. It is good to see Neuer regaining his confidence game after game. His passing was pin-point accurate and he handled pressing very well. He also managed few important saves in the beginning of the game that help Bayern to build their tempo. It is very important for the whole team to see Neuer at his best. I hope he will continue like this throughout the rest of the season.
Golf clap: Thomas Muller
It is very pleasing to see the Raumdeuter playing consistently well in his last matches. Today was no different. He was very important for the buildup to the first goal and managed an assist to Rafinha’s comical (and also amazing) goal. It was very unfortunate that he hit the crossbar near the end of the first half. In the last few matches Müller has come very close to scoring a goal, but somehow hasn’t found the back of the net. Nevertheless, that does not diminish his efforts, and the effect he has had to power Bayern’s dominant run. He is very important for Bayern’s ‘machine’.
Standing ovation: Robert Lewandowski
Lewy faced a tough defense today. Frankfurt played very physically, but fortunately no Bayern player ended the game injured. Lewandowski was often found stranded and alone in attack, but still managed to create good chances. He managed to assist to Franck Ribery and gave a great would-be assist to Muller when he hit the crossbar. His presence was very important for Bayern’s play, not just today, but generally, because when defenders isolate him, he still manages to draw them to him and leave some space for his teammates and oftentimes manages to assist them.
Meister of the match: Franck Ribery
Whenever you need Ribery to play well, just ask Rummenigge to say that this will probably be his last season. All jokes aside, Ribery was phenomenal today. Nowadays he plays more defensively and deploys through balls to his teammates as he tries not to run as much (understandable for a guy at his age), but today he combined good defensive play and a lot of running on the attack. He scored two goals and proved that he is still a good option to have as a joker card. He was without any doubt today’s player of the match. I hope his good form will continue, so that his (probable) final season at Bayern Munich will be remembered for a bounty of goals and assists!