But can you do it on a rainy night in Saarland? According to Bayern, no.
Jersey swap: Tim Schreiber
Marcel Gaus may have been the one to pierce the hearts of Bayern Munich fans with his 90+6’ winner, but it was Tim Schreiber that kept FC Saarbrücken in the game. The 21-year-old produced his most memorable save in the 75th minute, flying across goal to stop a venomous shot from Kingsley Coman. A barrage of Bayern attacks would soon follow, but Schreiber stepped up every time he was called on. Had it not been for the platform the young goalkeeper gave Saarbrücken, Bayern would surely have walked away victorious.
Der Kaiser: No one
Bayern’s defence has been shaky at best in recent weeks, but, with all due respect, getting dismantled by a third division side is not okay. Following Matthijs de Ligt’s injury, the backline saw constant rotation with Kimmich and Laimer dropping into centre-back on separate occasions. This certainly didn’t do the defence any favours, and neither did sub-par performances from Alphonso Davies, Bouna Sarr and Kim Min-jae. Overall, the defence left a lot to be desired tonight. Let’s hope Bayern improve ahead of their clash with Dortmund on Saturday, and please for the love of all things good, keep Kim fit.
Fußballgott: Thomas Müller
It was exciting to see Thomas Müller back in the starting line-up for what felt like an eternity. The Raumdeuter was off to a flying start with an unconventional outside the box goal in the 16th minute. What followed was certainly not Müller’s best performance in a Bayern shirt, often misplacing passes and looking generally out of sync with his teammates. It was however, good to see him back on the score sheet, and perhaps more notably, celebrating by sharing a handshake with Thomas Tuchel. If only they could have seen what was about to unfold in Saarland.
Bonus theory: Maybe Müller has pre-empted Tuchel’s sacking and wanted to be the first to send him on his way?
Der Bomber: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting
A tough award to give out in a rather toothless Bayern Munich attack. Nonetheless, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was the most impressive attacker on the pitch for Bayern. In the early stages of the game, Saarbrücken provided Die Rekordmeister acres of space to counter, but was often squandered by a careless pass or dribble. Choupo-Moting accounted for roughly none of that, completing 92% of his 24 attempted passes while completing two out of two dribbles. Sadly, Choupo didn’t find the back of the net, but he proved that he still has something to offer this team.
Meister of the Match: Joshua Kimmich
A controversial award for a controversial night. I am fully prepared to be roasted in the comments for this, but Kimmich put in a solid performance in a Bayern side that was anything but solid. Two things stood out about Joshua Kimmich: His passing ability and versatility. Kimmich ended the night with a 93% pass completion while producing three key passes, the most of any Bayern player. He was also forced to deputise at centre-back for a fair portion of the game, following Matthijs de Ligt’s injury, where he barely put a foot wrong. Be it defensive midfield, central midfield, right-back or even centre-back; Kimmich can perform at the highest level. In a Bayern side that is looking thinner and thinner by the day, Kimmich will be sorely missed in Der Klassiker on Saturday.
Who was your Meister of the Match? Let us know in the comments below.
If you’re not done wallowing in the misery of this loss, you can check out our postgame review/rant about Thomas Tuchel and the state of Bayern Munich at the moment. Listen to it below or on Spotify.
As always, we appreciate all the support.
