Match awards from Bayern Munich’s 6-1 hammering of Werder Bremen

Boy, did that feel good. Bayern Munich completely obliterated Werder Bremen in a game that initially seemed like one that had all the ingredients to be another nervy, uncomfortable outing for the German record champions. Forty minutes into the game, Bayern switched into full gear and ruthlessly picked apart Bremen’s defense, with some incisive passing and otherworldly skill.

This win comes at the right time for a Bayern side lacking in confidence after two straight Bundesliga losses against Bayer Leverkusen and league leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach, and there are a bunch of players who can really pat themselves on the back today for putting on a great showing.

So without further ado, here are the BFW match awards for today’s match:

Jersey Swap: Jiri Pavlenka and Milot Rashica

Goalkeepers featuring in Bayern fixture jersey swaps is becoming a staple since, no matter how good or bad teams are before facing Bayern, their keepers always turn up big time against the Bavarians.

Pavlenka was an absolute headache for Bayern to deal with, since the team would manage to get the ball up with some nice passing, only to be shut out by his saves. The Czech keeper wasn’t really to blame for most of the goals, and the scoreline would’ve been more like 12-1 if not for his superhuman saves. Whether it’s goat blood or llama milk, Bayern shouldn’t take any chances for granted and finish chances assuredly.

Milot Rashica shares the award due to being a thorn on the Bayern defense all day, making darting runs to carve up the defense, giving a torrid time for Boateng, who was subbed off after the first half. A special mention to a cracker of a goal he scored (Bremen’s only goal) which was only overshadowed by a certain Brazilian’s two otherworldly goals.

Tip of the cap: Alphonso Davies

Davies is slowly becoming one of Bayern’s best players currently, and proving to be one of Bayern’s best transfers of all time, especially considering what a bargain Bayern signed him for. He was all over the left wing today, making great clearances and blocks multiple times to recover the ball in time and snuff out counters, and charging forward at the slightest chance at goal, playing some great 1-2’s with Coutinho and later, Perisic. When Uli Hoeness and KHR both said that we’ve unearthed a diamond, a world beater, they weren’t speculating. Davies is slowly and steadily rising to just that position.

Golf Clap: Thomas Müller

This man is just so valuable to Bayern Munich. He can make a difference no matter how less he plays. Subbed in with around 20 minutes to go, he assisted Lewandowski (surprise, surprise!) with a gorgeous lob after a sharp one-two between the two, and scored one minutes later, dinking the ball into the back of the net. The raumdeuter has the ability to impact games in the blink of an eye, and that’s what makes him such a crucial part of the Bayern engine. Also, the assist takes his tally to a whopping 10 in the league so far, and he is now Europe’s most prolific goal provider.

Standing Ovation: Robert Lewandowski

The Polish hitman’s mini ‘goal drought’ was made history after another great performance from Bayern’s ace no.9. His two well-taken goals were one of the highlights of today’s game, and he would’ve had at least two more to his name had Pavlenka not made so many decisive blocks. Another welcoming aspect we see in Lewandowski’s game is that his linkup play is phenomenal, and he is always involved in goal build-ups. He had some lovely flicks and displayed great skill moves all game, proving to be a menace for the Bremen defense. All in all, a very satisfactory performance from the Pole.

Meister of the match: Philippe Coutinho

Bayern fans all over the world understandably wanted to see Coutinho benched more often. The first three months saw him struggle to get accustomed to the pace and grit of the Bundesliga. He took time settling in at Bayern, and his performances were good at best, disappointing and lackluster more often than not. But recently, the Brazilian magician has been having something of a resurgence, scoring 2 goals in 3 appearances before this fixture. Against Bremen however, the true power of the kraken was unleashed.

It is rather Werder Bremen’s ill-luck that Coutinho decided to show up BIG TIME this game, and one does feel sorry for them. He was instrumental in attack from the get-go, and showed great attacking intent. His magic started with a tap-in scored off a Gnabry assist, and that opened the floodgates for his talent to take the spotlight.

His assist for Lewandowski’s second was a thing of beauty, with a slicing lob with the inside of his boot putting the striker on a favorable 1v1 situation with Pavlenka, which he took with no mistake. Then came Coutinho’s second, an unbelievable goal of the season contender 180 degree turn chip that sent Pavlenka scrambling and teased the backline before finding its mark at the back of the net. He scored his third 15 minutes later, an absolute belter like the ones he’s known for, bending a powerful shot into the far right corner, to cap off a brilliant performance and a splendid hat-trick.

This is the Coutinho Bayern fans have been wanting to witness, and hopefully, this is just the beginning. The Brazilian can rest happy tonight, with the match-ball and the satisfaction of being the game-changer for a game Bayern needed to win.