Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Bayern Munich’s 1-1 draw vs. RB Leipzig; Franck Ribery chased down Cristiano Ronaldo; Some notes on Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Bayern’s unfulfilling 1-1 draw vs. Leipzig (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich earned one point with a road draw against RB Leipzig. After scoring a goal in the third minute, the Bavarians could not muster another and settled for the draw after Lucas Hernandez fouled Yussuf Poulsen in the box, which led to a penalty kick conversion by Emil Forsberg. Anyway, here are some quick hitters on the one that got away:

• Let’s start with the elephant in the room: The substitutions. While Corentin Tolisso is a fine player, Niko Kovac absolutely jumper the gun is taking off Thomas Müller. Müller was putting forth a very good effort and was unceremoniously yanked at a time where the squad needed a goal. I might just be an idiot with a keyboard, but taking off one of the most effective players that you had on the pitch does not seem like a good strategy.
• In general, taking off Serge Gnabry was a good move. Gnabry was one of a few Bayern Munich players who was having an off-game. The youngster has become a very reliable player, but his performance was sub-par yesterday. The whole reason you have a player like Ivan Perisic on your bench is for situations like yesterday. I’m all for Alphonso Davies getting first team minutes, but there are plenty of games left on the schedule to make that happen.
• I truly didn’t understand either of those moves. Plus, why bring on Philippe Coutinho for 10 minutes? Kovac has me scratching my head.
• Thiago Alcantara had a very quiet game and was a non-factor, which is odd for the ultra-talented midfielder. Thiago is prone to having a few of these types of games over the course of the season.
• Manuel Neuer was excellent. At a time where his status as Germany’s No.1 goalkeeper is under a bit of fire, Neuer showed the world exactly why he’s still “The Man.”

• Robert Lewandowski had a terrific work rate and again showed why he is the world’s best No.9.

• Lucas Hernandez has his first lackluster performance for Bayern Munich, but the overall defensive unit was sub-par at best. Things might have played out differently had Kovac slid Benjamin Pavard in at center-back instead of Jerome Boateng and moved Joshua Kimmich to right-back.
• Speaking of which, Kovac needs to move Kimmich back to right-back. While he was very good on the day, Kimmich was less impactful as a defensive midfielder and it makes the team less efficient overall. Kimmich is so damn good wherever he plays, but at right-back he is arguably the top-player at that position in the world.

• Julian Nagelsmann did, indeed, implore his squad to be physical and they followed those marching orders. RB Leipzig held, grabbed, pushed, and groped Lewandowski and Kingsley Coman at every opportunity.
• Timo Werner had a very solid game for RB Leipzig, but Marcel Sabitzer was Die Roten Bullen’s best player yesterday. Ibrahima Konante was also very, very good for Leipzig.

If you missed our Match Awards or Observations, give them a look:

Borussia Dortmund battered Bayer Leverkusen (Bavarian Football Works)

There is not a ton of news today aside of the unfortunate report regarding David Alaba, so why not break down how Borussia Dortmund crushed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0:

• This was the Dortmund I think that we all thought we would see. The depth, speed, talent, and tenacity were all vital to BVB’s effort.
• The center-back duo of Mats Hummels and Manuel Akanji stifled Kai Havertz and the rest of the Bayer Leverkusen attack, while the Dortmund offense was also on-point.
• Paco Alcacer scored early and was complimented by a brace from Marco Reus and a single goal from Raphaël Guerreiro.
• It seems like it only takes one minor slip-up for Jadon Sancho to make an impact on a game — and that’s exactly what happened when he set up Reus’ first goal.
• The depth on Dortmund is kind of crazy. I think Jacob Bruun Larsen is a really good prospect (and he showed it with a dazzling assist to Reus), but he can barely ever get on to the field for BVB. Still, Bruun Larsen at least got on to pitch yesterday, whereas Mario Gotze is rotting on Lucien Favre’s bench.
• Leverkusen did not offer up much in the way of competition. It was a very poor effort for Die Werkself.
• I wish I would have screen-capped it, but when Julian Brandt left the pitch for Thorgan Hazard, a few Leverkusen fans absolutely let him have it with some choice words and flipping him off. Brandt did not seem affected at all and the overall reaction was far more kind as you can see in the video below:

Ribery chases down Ronaldo (@pellegrini_fan)

If anyone was wondering how Franck Ribery is doing with Fiorentina and if he had anything left to offer the Italian side, I think this video will answer your question:

Fiorentina forced a 0-0 draw with Juventus and Ribery’s tackle of Cristiano Ronaldo was surely one of the highlights.

Neymar scores a stunner (@TrueSccrLife)

We poke a little fun at Neymar here form time-to-time and sure his transfer saga was exhausting, but he’s still damn good: