Match awards from Bayern Munich’s ruthless 7-0 dismantling of VFL Bochum

Jersey Swap: Manuel Riemann

In a game that was a lopsided affair both on the pitch and on the scoreboard, Riemann held his own against one of the world’s best teams. I know that conceding 7 doesn’t look great, but Bochum are lucky they didn’t lose by a far worse margin. Riemann made some superb saves to deny Goretzka, Sané, and Gnabry and tried his best to do damage control in the second half. Unfortunately for him, Bayern Munich were out for blood.

Der Bomber: Leroy Sané

Bayern’s no. 10’s resurgence continues. Since being moved to the left wing in what now seems to be a move of absolute genius by Nagelsmann, Sané has been terrorizing defenses with his dribbling, pace and connection with Davies. His defensive work rate looks better than ever, and with a goal, an assist, and a wonderful pre-assist, the German winger put in a performance that would’ve warranted an MOTM if not for a certain German midfielder.

Fußballgott: Thomas Müller

The legendary CAM is back to his ‘raumdeutering’ best. Müller was super involved in every move forward, and was the engine keeping Bayern’s attack in top gear. His passing was great, and he was also very good in deeper roles around the pitch. The German chipped in with an assist and a beautiful through ball that resulted in Bochum’s own goal. He would’ve had a goal too, had it not been for a very close offside call. Bayern Munich’s best almost always coincides with Müller’s top form, which is why Nagelsmann Bayern looks super scary right now.

Honorable mention: Leon Goretzka

Goretzka started the game in shoddy fashion, misplacing passes and mistiming his challenges. But as the game progressed, he was brilliant defensively, registered an assist, and almost scored a worldie. Great improvement.

Der Kaiser: Lucas Hernandez

The Frenchman is Bayern’s best defender when fit. Lucas and Süle were immense today, with the former doing superbly well to completely shut down any attempt to get to Bayern’s box to create chances/score goals. His passing is also massively underrated... the defender completed 88% of his passes and made some great passes to the final third. He was also always present in the right place at the right time to make timely blocks, clearances and interceptions. A noteworthy moment came when he wrestled the ball away from Holtmann with a great block towards the end of the game. Top performance.

Honorable mention: Niklas Süle

Hernandez’s German compatriot also put in a performance worthy of just as much praise, with a super solid shift. Bayern’s defense is not conceding, and this is a welcome change that Bayern fans will certainly be happy about.

Meister of the Match: Joshua Kimmich

This man is back on beast mode, and he’s hard to stop. Two goals, a pass completion of 91% and numerous key chances created round up one of his best performances this season. Kimmich covered every blade of grass, served as an additional passing outlet at the back and relieved Bayern of Bochum’s initial press wonderfully. Bayern and Germany’s future leader is the engine of this side, and good things will certainly happen when this man is firing on all cylinders. We can only hope that he can be rested whenever possible (provided he doesn’t bite Nagelsmann’s head off, of course), because a healthy Kimmich is a requirement if Bayern are to win a treble this season.