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Jersey Swap: Rune Jarstein & Dodi Lukebakio
Arguably, Hertha BSC Should have tied this match if Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer wasn’t on the top of his game tonight. Lukebakio should have scored early in the match but Neuer had other plans and made impossible saves look normal. Lukebakio was a constant threat to Bayern’s backline yet failed to triumph over Germany’s number 1.
However, Hertha’s goalkeeper Rune Jarstein had a game to remember, especially due to his incredible save of Robert Lewandowski’s penalty. A brilliant recovery save after Jarstein himself committed the foul which gave Lewandowski the penalty in the first place. To top it all off for Jarstein, here’s a fascinating stat for you:
Rune Jarstein is only the 2nd Bundesliga keeper to save a penalty by Robert Lewandowski. The first was Manuel Neuer in 2013, when facing Lewandowski, who played for Dortmund back then [Opta] pic.twitter.com/7mhUcO98GB
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) February 5, 2021
Der Bomber: Thomas Müller
Müller earns this nod in large part to Lewandowski having a relatively subpar display and providing the assist to the match-winning goal. Thomas Müller continues to make magic happen for FC Bayern when the going gets tough. Given he’s arguably the most vital offensive player for Bayern, seeing him do the hard work such as today makes this award an easy choice.
Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich
Joshua Kimmich is the German version of the The Little Engine That Could. Always where the ball was and efficient as ever in his midfield play, Kimmich is once again reminding us that he will be the future captain of FC Bayern. Games like this make fans proud that Bayern poached him from VfB Stuttgart for a measly €8.50m.
Der Kaiser: Lucas Hernandez
In all honesty, the defense was subpar this game. If it wasn’t for Neuer, I don’t think Bayern would win this match, even with the xG supposedly 2.6 x 1.7 in their favor. Hernandez was chosen largely because he was nondescript . He did not make any noticeable errors, however, he was far from elite which would be expected given his €80m price tag. If David Alaba is leaving like reports suggest, Hernandez will need to improve.
Meister of the Match: Manuel Neuer
What more can be said? Neuer is singlehandedly the reason Bayern won this match. Bayern’s defense, per normal, was incredibly suspect and gave Hertha BBC considerable chances. Mind you, this team is 15th in the table and they managed 7 shots on goal with only 40% possession. So given that and the fact Neuer made incredible save after incredible save, this was a no brainer. Not to mention, tonight was Neuer’s 16th clean sheet against Hertha BBC which is a new Bundesliga record for most clean sheets against one opponent. To top it off, WhoScored gave Neuer an 8.2 rating for the match, one of the higher totals this season.