Match awards from Bayern Munich’s difficult 2-1 win over Galatasaray

This time around, nobody was expecting an easy game for Bayern Munich. After getting dominated for most parts of the away game, this time Bayern managed to keep control of the game while creating dangerous scoring chances. When it seemed like everything was not going Bayern’s way, a certain record-breaker stepped up and made his mark.

Jersey Swap: Sacha Boey

In a game that seemed to be played only on his side of the field, the 23-year-old Frenchman really stood his ground against one of the scariest duos to defend against as a right-back. Either by snuffing out the danger early or by using some light tricks to get Leroy Sané off balance, Boey did his job perfectly and limited Bayern’s biggest threat while having a healthy amount of runs forward. If he keeps it up, it won’t be a wonder to see him feature in the Champions League year in, year out for bigger teams.

Honorable mention: Cédric Bakambu

The super-sub made his impact on the pitch by scoring a very clinical goal with his first shot of the game.

Der Kaiser: Alphonso Davies

In a game where our defense did a lot better than the away game, it would not be a mistake to say that Kim Min-Jae, Upamecano, or Manuel Neuer did a good enough job to deserve the award. It was the roadrunner, though, who had the most impact both on the defense and drive forward of the team. He was mostly solid in the tackles, nullified the danger of Boey and Ziyech, and even escaped the pressure in the most elegant of ways in the first half while dribbling his way through three Galatasaray players. A much-improved performance for the Canadian. #whereisthenewcontract

Der Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich managed to keep the midfield working through a very high and intensive Galatasaray press. This time around, he did a much better job than in Turkey. Bolstered by his own home fans, Kimmich kept everything ticking in a very clean way, without major errors, while having the joint highest number of successful tackles (three) and a 93% pass success rate. He wrapped everything up with a beautifully curled cross to assist Harry Kane for the opener. A very complete performance from our number six to silence the critics for the time being.

Der Bomber: Mathys Tel

While Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman had an active outing on each side of the game, they both lacked the end product to help Bayern unlock the match. Be it the many one-on-one opportunities Sané lost or the many crosses without target that Coman whipped, both wingers had a mostly ineffective outing out there. Enter Mathys Tel, Bayern’s youngest winger, who managed to make a significant impact off the bench, having two successful dribbles and assisting an inch-perfect pass to an open Harry Kane on the second post. Tel is by far Bayern’s most impactful player off the bench for the season.

Meister of the Match: Harry Kane

Who else? Harry Kane is Bayern Munich’s best player at the moment. Period. In a difficult game with not many chances coming by, Kane turned into a provider by setting up multiple chances for Leroy Sané. He could have easily had two assists in the game. But when the going got tougher and the deadlock needed to be broken, he put on his goalscorer mantle and scored two to secure the game for Bayern. One classic header and a poacher’s finish were enough for Bayern to get the three points and for Harry Kane to complete another Man of the Match display. Sky seems to be the only limit for the Englishman this season, taking his tally to 19 goals and seven assists in 14 games for the club. Take a bow.

While we work on a podcast review of this game, you should absolutely check out our most recent episode — we talked about Bayern Munich’s triumphant win over BVB, the awesomeness of Harry Kane, and a lot more. Listen to it below or on Spotify.

As always, we appreciate all the support!