Bayern Munich faced an early deficit, but found strength and turned the match around. The first half was a cagey one, but as soon as Mainz 05 opened up in the second half, Bayern used the chance and scored a bunch of goals. In these matches, it is always hard to choose stand out performers since Bayern played well as a team. So, without further ado, here are the match awards!
Jersey swap: Jean-Paul Boetius
Boetius used the one defensive mistake that Bayern made and capitalized on it. Luckily for Bayern, falling behind early wasn’t costly. On a few other instances, Boetius was a minor threat to Manuel Neuer’s goal, but the goalkeeper was up to the task.
Tip of the cap: Thomas Muller
Thomas Muller had a wonderful game since he came in for Philippe Coutinho in 66’ minute. Bayern’s game livened up and his connection with Lewandowski is one from a fairy tale. Muller made his impact today with two assists to his name. One for Alphonso Davies and another one for Robert Lewandowski. It’s always to have the Raumdeuter by our side in these cagey games when he can make his characteristic run-ins and free up space.
Golf clap: Robert Lewandowski
Another match — another goal. Lewandowski’s goal tally is now counting six. Mainz is perennially one of his favorite opponents, since he scored 15 times in 15 matches against Mainz. Today he didn’t do much in the first half, but in the second one, he made his presence felt. He was more active while defending and attacking. Lewandowski scored a brilliant goal with a slight help of Niakhaté’s backside. He also had one chip-shot, but a Mainz defender got it cleared on the goalline.
Standing ovation: Ivan Perišić
The newcomer made his first Bundesliga start for the Bavarians this season. In the first half, it was noticeable that the Croat was still adapting to Bayern’s game plan. In the first half, he had some misplaced passes and one missed 1-on-1 chance,but as the game progressed, he got better. His wonderful cross, which was the start of the huge comeback, found Pavard, and he scored with a volley similar to his goal in the World Cup in Russia. In the second half, he managed to score a goal after a cross by Pavard.
Meister of the match: Benjamin Pavard
The Frenchman could be blamed for the early goal that Bayern conceded. He was marking Boetius, but the Mainz man slipped away and scored a quality goal. After that, Pavard was visibly nervous for his mistake, and he had a few misplaced passes. This could be said for the whole team, but as the game progressed, Pavard was more stable. He scored a goal that could turn out to be the goal of the week/month. Defensively, he was very strong today, and his attacking abilities were also very good. He also made an assist for Ivan Perišić with a perfect cross. He was vital for Bayern’s defense when Mainz tried to reduce the lead. Great things are expected of him!
BUT DE PAVARD !!!!! La reprise est toujours là #FCBM05 #Pavard #Bayern pic.twitter.com/mDFLf6jx82
— Le Trio Sportif (@Le_Trio_Sportif) August 31, 2019