Match Awards for Bayern Munich’s 6-2 win against D.C. United

As expected, Bayern Munich defeated D.C. United fairly easily. In each half, Bayern scored two goals fairly early and then one more late — with goals coming from Sadio Mané, Marcel Sabitzer, and Serge Gnabry in the first half, followed by goals from Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkee, and Thomas Müller in the second half. Down 5-0 in the second half, D.C. was finally able to score two goals, the first in the 54th and and the second in the 83rd. Match awards are always difficult in friendlies — especially when Bayern plays with a different team in each half — but we will give it a go! Here are our match awards:

Jersey Swap: Theodore Ku-DiPietro

The twenty year-old American scored the second of the two D.C. United goals. Ku-DiPietro normally plays for D.C.’s second team — Louden United of the USL Championship — but was one of many who was called up for this match. While his goal was caused by an Ulreich save that was parried back into danger, the young American still had work to do to get around a defender and Ulreich to put the ball back in the net. This is something that he will likely never forget. As great of an honor that is a BFW Jersey Swap, I hope that he was able to swap jerseys with someone from Bayern!

Der Bomber: Kingsley Coman

We didn’t know if Coman would still be in Bavarian red at this point, but he showed a glimpse of what he can still do for Bayern. Coming off the bench at the beginning of the second half, Coman was a great target for long balls over the top. His speed allowed him to get behind the defense, his footwork helped him to take the ball inside the defender, and his passing set up his teammates in dangerous positions. Unfortunately, none of these translated to goals for Bayern, but Coman did assist Zirkzee’s goal in the 52nd, which made it 5-0 at the time.

Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich

Although Gabriel Vidović and Sabitzer both played quite well in the first half (the latter even getting Bayern’s second goal), it seemed like something was missing in the midfield. Kimmich came in and did exactly what Bayern fans are used to seeing from him — consistency in the midfield. Everything seemed to flow better through the middle of the field when Kimmich came on. To be completely honest, I don’t have any stats that would back up by observations. It just seemed like there was more normalcy in the game in the second half, and I think that had so much to do with Kimmich.

Der Kaiser: Alphonso Davies

Back on an MLS-field, Alphonso Davies showed North America the progress he made in less than three years since leaving the league. In addition to the speed that he always has had, Davies looks to have bulked up in the offseason. As we have grown accustomed to, Davies used his speed to run after defenders and either beat them to the ball or make a timely challenge to take the ball away. His distribution and the ability to get up and down on the wing made him a thorn in D.C.’s side while he was on the field. I think we could see Davies’ best season yet.

Meister of the Match: Sadio Mané

One of Bayern’s newcomers showed fans why Bayern’s front office and coaching staff wanted Mané. Right from the start, Mané showed his speed and attacking abilities. He wasted no time getting his name on the scoresheet for Bayern, stepping up and burying a penalty kick in the fifth minute. The rest of the half, Mané kept D.C. on their toes, both with attempts to set up his teammates and when he would go for goal himself. He brilliantly put the ball in the back of the net twice more right before halftime, but was called offside both times. The first time, he knew he was off but still put the ball through the keeper’s legs. Had the match used VAR, the second attempt may have counted, as it was a much closer call and a far better shot on goal. If this 45 minutes is any sign of what is to come, Bayern fans are in for a treat this season.