Match awards from Bayern Munich’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt

Bayern Munich were really tested by Eintracht Frankfurt in what was a heavily contested affair. The Bavarians faced Atletico 2.0 and their brand of scumbag football, which included but was not limited to: time wasting, rough challenges, tugging and shoving the players and diving(the ref didn’t care anyways). After a grueling few months and a spell of games with little rotation, Bayern cracked. The loss certainly felt undeserved.

Here are the match awards for the game:

Jersey Swap: Filip Kostić

Kostić has always been one of the Bundesliga’s best players, and he has always annoyed Bayern whenever die Roten have faced the Frankfurt outfit. Today’s game was no different, with the winger causing all sorts of problems with his pace and physicality. Chipping in with a superb assist, a goal scored off a fast counter and many strong challenges, the Serbian put in an all round performance.

Der Bomber: Leroy Sané

Leroy Sané has looked a different player in recent weeks, and today, he was immense when defending and winning balls in the final third. He put in some great crosses, one of which was a peach that Serge Gnabry fluffed from short range. He also should’ve had at least 2 goals to his name, if not for some outrageous goalkeeping from Trapp. A good performance overall.

Honorable mention: Choupo Moting - one of the few players on the pitch who gave their all and did something meaningful during their play time. Should’ve come in sooner. Great effort.

Der Fußballgott: Robert Lewandowski

There were few players as active as this man in the midfield half spaces. Today, he took more of a playmaking role, and played deeper than usual, but with great output. He contributed the assist for Goretzka’s goal with an otherworldly first time ball, and put in some amazing through balls and flicks to create goals throughout the game. He even sent in a powerful header that should’ve been enough for a goal if not for the Great Wall of Frankfurt.

There wasn’t a lot else he could’ve done, and his teammates let him down today with their scoring (or lack thereof) and shoddy passing.

Der Kaiser: Lucas Hernandez

It’s not easy to justify a “Der Kaiser” award during a loss, but Lucas just made it a super straightforward decision. He was Bayern’s most solid defensive player, and made some vital blocks and challenges that denied Frankfurt some golden chances. Two instances come to mind in particular: one of them being his intervention that prevented Frankfurt from bagging another in the dying minutes of the first half, and another superb block that prevented Borré from having a free path to goal.

The Frenchman was also very good further up the pitch, winning the ball up high and getting in toe to toe with every Frankfurt challenge. Yes, he did fluff up a few passes, but overall, his performance was certainly more than deserving of this award.

Meister of the Match: Kevin Trapp

It must feel unusual to see a non-Bayern player in this section, but this is completely justified. No Bayern player shone like a star today, but Eintracht’s Kevin Trapp did. Trapp, who dazzled between the sticks, was in prime Manuel Neuer mode today (what a shocker!) and made stunning save after save to deny Lewandowski and co. countless times. At one point the game got super frustrating and it simply didn’t seem like Bayern could get more goals past this man. He looked in complete control, and somehow shut the Bayern attack down.

The Bavarians didn’t score after their first goal as a result, and Trapp is the main reason Frankfurt won. A historic performance, one that’ll undoubtedly be among his fondest memories.

Bonus awards:

Idiot of the match: The referee - Needs no explanation.

The Timo Werner award: Serge Gnabry - I guess all that contract extension talk must’ve gotten to his head, because Bayern’s chef seemed to have come to the pitch having run out of cooking gas.

Lost in the woods award: Dayot Upamecano - I really hope this was just an off-day for him, because that wasn’t good. Upamecano was caught ball watching during Eintracht’s first, when Hinteregger just had to nod the ball in uncontested. Was bodied by Kostic and co. for Eintracht’s second, and looked shaky in the second half. I hope and believe that this was a one-off, because that was bad.