Match Awards from Bayern Munich’s dramatic 3-1 win vs St. Pauli

Two goals scored in the stoppage timee saw Bayern Munich scrape past a resolute and determined St. Pauli side. The side from Hamburg had put aside a rotten recent run of form to brilliantly keep the Bavarians at bay, but eventually the Bavarians’ quality shone through. Here are the match awards from this close match:

Jersey Swap: Eric Smith

It should be a crime to give a center back the number 8 shirt. But that is the number Eric Smith wore as he led St. Pauli’s defense in a superb performance. He won 4 of his 5 ground duels, made 3 recoveries, even managed an 88% passing accuracy and was blameless for the first two goals. He did, however, cheaply give the ball up for Bayern’s third goal. Perhaps it is an accurate snapshot of the match that St. Pauli’s best player also struggled in the final minutes.

Honorable mention to Mathias Pereira Lage, who showed the same kind of indefatigable energy as the rest of his team throughout the match and chipped in with a gorgeously weighted pass for the opening goal of the game. He threatened Bayern whenever St.Pauli made their way up the pitch in the first half, but seriously faded in the second half before being subbed off with an injury.

Der Kaiser: Jonathan Tah

Many see Dayot Upamecano as the star center back of this team, but the fact is now that Jonathan Tah has been the center back head coach Vincent Kompany has relied upon the most, given Tah has now played 250 minutes more than his French teammate. He marshaled a heavily rotated back line superbly, blameless for the first goal and constantly in the way of St. Pauli’s counterattacks whenever they tried to threaten. The only real mistake he made was his rash challenge on Pereira Lage, which likely contributed to the opposition player’s substitution and earned the Germany international a yellow card.

Der Fußballgott: Joshua Kimmich

This award was going to go to Aleksandar Pavlović until Joshua Kimmich received the ball on the right, cut in on his less favored left foot and floated in an inch perfect cross for Luis Díaz to score the winner. Outside of the matchwinner, Germany’s captain had enjoyed a fine if not ineffectual performance, circulating the ball well but too often relying on the safe pass. Moreover, he needs to accept some culpability for the conceded goal through the risky pass he played to Konrad Laimer before the latter lost the ball. Still, this was nothing worse than a fine performance greatly enhanced by his phenomenal contribution to the match winner.

Der Bomber: Michael Olise

Michael Olise may only have played in the second half but the difference in purpose he showed on the ball made a lot of difference today. In a match where Bayern chose to play it safe too often, he stood out by running at his opponent time and time again. This time it did not result in many chances but it was not for a lack of trying, as he regularly beat multiple defenders and put in teasing crosses for players to attack. The Frenchman underlined his importance to the team today.

Man of the Match: Luis Díaz

Who else? Is it too simple of a narrative to say that this was what Bayern were missing against Arsenal FC in the Champions League? The former Liverpool FC player was generally fairly quiet in the match as, unsurprisingly, most of Bayern’s attacks went down the right side of the pitch. But Díaz brings an incredible desire to win and fight tooth and nail until the last second, a trait many Bayern players have but perhaps not to the extent the Colombian does. Who else would be pushed to the ground and be able to immediately find a way to continue the attack by improvising, lifting his foot and moving the ball to the nearest teammate? Who else could see the lofted pass from Kimmich and rush into the box with unshakable belief that he would reach the ball? The quality Díaz showed aside, it was this incredible belief that carried Bayern over the finish line. In a team that was clearly shaken from recent poor performances and played things far too safe, Díaz was the only one who believed for every second of every game that a win was still going to happen. And that is why Bayern escaped the match with three points.