Match awards from Bayern Munich’s narrow 2-1 win against Dynamo Kyiv

Bayern Munich bested Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League on a cold, snowy night. Here are the official BFW Match Awards after the hard-fought victory...

Jersey swap: Viktor Tsygankov

Tsygankov was probably the best Dynamo Kyiv player on the pitch tonight. He had a difficult first half, but as the manager Lucescu made a couple of changes on the half-time break, Tsygankov significantly improved in the second half. He was often creating dangerous situations for Manuel Neuer, who had a difficult time tonight. Viktor managed to help his team with an assist, and he almost scored late in the match, but he hit the post! All in all, a good game for Tsygankov.

Der Kaiser: Alphonso Davies

The Canadian was one of the best players on the pitch, and he didn’t take much time to get used to the harsh conditions in Ukraine. Julian Nagelsmann created a very specific position for Davies. Bayern Munich’s offensive left-back is profiting from working with Nagelsmann since his performances have improved this season. Tonight, he was very quick, as always, and constantly put pressure on opposing players, whether they attacked or defended. His dedication was also notable.

But, Davies is also one of the players to blame for the conceived goal. When Dynamo was on the break, the Canadian remained far away from the goal, and he was late to make a tackle or to put pressure on Dynamo’s attackers. Davies has to watch out for this so he won’t get in similar situations again.

Der Fußballgott: Leon Goretzka

Goretzka was vital in securing another win for the Bavarians tonight. He wasn’t flashy. He didn’t provide assists or score any goals. But he was everywhere on the pitch. When Bayern attacked, he soon joined the attackers and often created chances. And when Dynamo Kyiv attacked, he was also often the player who stopped their attacks. He also made some crucial tackles and won many duels, but his most important tackle was at the very end of the match, when he was the last man in the defense — and managed to kick the ball with an exquisite sliding tackle.

Der Bomber: Kingsley Coman

The French winger is playing on another level after his heart surgery. Again tonight, Coman proved why he is the first option for Nagelsmann in recent matches. He continuous to play with a burning desire to win, which is always a good thing to see. Coman is more and more involved in defending, and that’s also another way to help out his teammates. He managed to score the second goal for Bayern Munich tonight, after a great pass from Corentin Tolisso, and an even better dummy from Thomas Muller. If Coman continues playing like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bayern’s bosses decided to make him one of the top earners at the club.

Meister of the Match: Team effort

Although Bayern did manage to get a win tonight, the boys had to work hard for today’s three points. First of all, beating Dynamo Kyiv is not an easy task. They are often playing in the Champions League, and almost always manage to surprise at least one big team in the group stage, especially when they’re playing in Ukraine.

Tonight, Bayern’s first enemy was the weather, as the snow was heavily falling in the first half, and the temperature was -5 degrees. It was hard for players to get into the rhythm, luckily for the Bavarians — Robert Lewandowski scored the opener.

Secondly, Dynamo played well and was closer to a draw than to a 2:1 loss. At times, Bayern found it very hard to both attack and defend.

And finally, in my opinion, Bayern didn’t have a stand-out performer. There were some good performances, but not fantastic ones. It was a mediocre performance to be fair on individual and team levels. But still, Bayern’s team effort won them the match. Especially in the second half when Dynamo attacked and looked dangerous, Bayern managed to play even with 10 men on the field and didn’t concede the second goal. Bayern also had a lot of missing players, so when you consider everything — great team effort to secure today’s win!

BTW, we have a podcast on all things Bayern Munich. If you missed our postgame show, give it a listen ...