Match Awards from Bayern Munich’s 5:2 victory against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga

Jersey swap: Niko Gießelmann

Union Berlin played well today and gave Bayern Munich a rough time throughout this match. Especially in the second half, Union was close to scoring more than two goals, but you can say that Bayern was lucky only to concede two times. One of the best Union players on the pitch was Niko Gießelmann, who scored the first goal for Berliners. He often created havoc on Bayern’s half with his smart and well-timed runs. Niko opened the scoreline for Union with a smart Muller-like run.

Der Kaiser: Alphonso Davies

The Canadian defender recovered from his abysmal performance in a shocking 5:0 defeat from Borussia Monchengladbach. Davies was solid today, even though Bayern conceded twice. Davies contributed a lot to Bayern’s attacks with his usual pacey runs on the left flank. He was stable when defending and didn’t make any major errors today. His passing was really good today, and it’s obvious that he’s learned a few things after the early Pokal exit, as he made 91% of his attempted passes.

Fußballgott: Leroy Sane

Leroy Sane again had a great game today. He has managed to get on the score sheet again and scored the third goal for his team. He also had a couple of very good chances, but either Luthe saved his attempts, or his shots went nearly wide. But what I find the most fascinating is his new role under Nagelsmann. He’s constantly going through the middle rather than sticking to his on-paper position — the left flank. So Davies eventually has a lot of room to move around, and Leroy Sane has a playmaker role and has a lot of options from left to right. And this kind of role suits Sane, as he’s making assist or goal contributions in almost every match.

Der Bomber: Robert Lewandowski

The Pole was again fantastic tonight, and he managed to score a brace in today’s match. Lewandowski’s first goal came from a penalty, which he took perfectly. His second goal was again a thing of beauty. He was fouled close to the penalty box, and Bayern’s players had an ace up their sleeve. In a very beautiful free-kick combination, Lewandowski scored a world-class goal after Muller’s assist. But besides his attacking contributions, he was very helpful to Bayern’s defense. In one instance he came back to defend very deep on Bayern’s half. All in all, a very inspiring performance from the world’s best striker.

Meister of the Match: Thomas Müller

Well, it was a performance close to perfection. Muller worked very hard today, from the first minute up until the very last minute. Muller was determined to show character after Borussia’s defeat on Wednesday and he was a true leader on the pitch today, as he motivated his players to press, or drop back to help his teammates with defending. He managed to get a hat-trick of assists today and also scored a very nice goal after Dayot Upamecano made the run and pass. It was a scintillating performance from the German veteran, and it was an utter joy to watch him play and dictate the tempo today. He finished the match with 77% successful passes and four key passes.