Bayern Munich completed their final friendly before the start of the season against FC Heidenheim. Vincent Kompany continued with the approach of starting youngsters and giving them meaningful time before bringing the seniors late on in the game. Felipe Chávez and Tim Binder really stood out and made a statement with their performances. The famed front three of Bayern, Harry Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise, came on in the final half hour and got minutes needed to return to fitness. Kompany needed his seniors to take the scoreline from 2-2 to 4-2, as he tries to find the best combination to kick things off. Before further ado, here are the match awards from this fixture.
Jersey Swap: Yannik Wagner
The ever ready Yannik Wagner pounced on the Bayern backline with every half chance he got. The first goal for the home-side came from relentless pressure that forced a rushed and misplaced pass from Bayern’s Bara Sapoko Ndiaye. Wagner was well past Dayot Upamecano before coolly slotting the ball into the visitors’ goal. A lot of credit to Heidenheim manager Frank Schmidt and his players, who had a great anticipation of Bayern’s movements and passes. They contained the threat from the Bavarians with an effective combination of physical dominance and an ability to read the game.
Der Kaiser: Hiroki Itō
The Japanese center-back was a rock in the back. Staying on the pitch for much longer than his French counterpart, Itō was reliable in his showdowns with the opposing attackers. Winning important duels, the Japanese international hardly let the situation get dangerous as he stopped threats with vital interventions and clearances.
Itō grew into this game and imposed control over his area of the pitch. Playing the role of a defensive sweeper, Itō stopped Heidenheim’s runs and long balls effectively. The 27 year-old was impressive in locking out the attackers by playing them out of space. This resulted in him making seven recoveries despite having registered just one tackle.
Fußballgott: Felipe Chávez
The young Peruvian is slowly turning into a revelation for Vincent Kompany and Bayern. It can be argued that he played a lot of safe passes and took a relatively lower amount of risk, but let that not take away from the immense potential of the 19 year-old.
With the front four playing wide and forward, the midfield duo of Ndiaye and Chávez were forced to pass to the flanks and let the attack develop there. A more natural No. 10 could have bridged this duo to attack and unlocked their ability to create from midfield. Nonetheless, Chávez’s game displayed control, winning 75 percent of his duels, and accuracy with a 92 percent passing rate. Adding to all this was his flair for the fabulous. His free kick goal was an absolute blinder that clearly showed he’s got the tekkers.
Der Bomber: Tim Binder
The young winger became a nuisance for the opposition once he understood that he can still play his game even if he is cutoff from his teammates. Binder found ways out of corners that the Heidenheim players would force him into away from the rest of Bayern players. The home side had to resort to fouls to put a check on the young German. Although being dispossessed only once, the opponents read his passes and were able to contain his dribbling impact until the penalty. Binder ran past three Heidenheim players before being brought down illegally in the penalty box. Ibrahimović scored from the spot and equalized the score.
Meister of the Match: Michael Olise
Michael Olise’s ability to hit the ground running immediately after retuning from his vacation shows why he is one of the best wingers right now. The difference in Bayern’s threat factor increased exponentially once Olise came on. Balancing chance creation with going for his signature curling shots, the Frenchman kept knocking on Thomas Dähne’s goal. His setup of Luis Diaz’s goal and the connection between the two is worth re-watching over and over again.
Olise’s ability to suddenly change pace, coupled with his famous nonchalant expressions, make for a nasty disguise of the urgency in his head. After dribbling past his marker and entering the box, Olise slowed down and scanned the field. Four Heidenheim players were all ball-watching, leaving an open Luis Díaz to make a bombing run right to the near post. The quick pass from Olise and the one touch finish from Díaz were a perfect ending to this deceptive piece of play.
Honorable mentions
Dayot Upamecano
The Frenchman was one of the senior pillars upon which the squad of mostly Bayern youth rested. Knowing Upa is guarding the fort allowed the young Bavarians to be carefree in attack. Heidenheim are a wily side that knew how to use their edge in experience and physicality over their younger opponents. However, Upa stood in their way as a levelling force barely giving any weight that the fixture was a friendly.
His willingness and ability to take two or even three attackers made him a force of nature for the visitors. Added to his defensive robustness where he dominated in all three of his aerial duels, he sliced apart Heidenheim 14 times with precision passes into their final third.
Luis Díaz
The Colombian was blockbuster as usual. Coming on with only 29 minutes left, the 29 year-old needed just one deft touch off Olise’s pass to get himself on the scoresheet and break the tie for Bayern. His connection with Michael Olise was not perfect, considering the Frenchman just returned to the pitch. However, this winger duo causes problems every time they are on the pitch, and today was no different.
Bara Sapoko Ndiaye
The Senegalese deserves a shoutout despite his two blunders that led to both the goals for the home-side. Ndiaye was entrusted with the holding midfielder role and played a full 90 minutes reflecting the trust of Kompany in the 18 year-old even after he made mistakes. Nonetheless, he was an important channel for circulating the ball and Ndiaye was very reliable with a 94 percent passing rate.
Along with his passing, he is also a nifty dribbler who can endure physical pressure and retain the ball. He was dispossessed only twice despite the Heidenheim side having a clear advantage in physicality paired with acute anticipation of Bayern’s movements due to their vast experience, compared to the youngsters.
Aleksandar Pavlović
The holding midfielder had a much better game compared to the previous friendly. Perhaps the knowledge that the midfield is relying solely on him to be the CDM made Pavlo more mindful of his defensive positioning. Slipping in a sublime pass to Nathaniel Brown, who was lurking in the box, Pavlo got himself a neat assist to top off his day at the office.
Arijon Ibrahimović
The former Heidenheim forward started off very slow. The midfield duo need a forward who could drop back and connect them with the attackers. Alas, Ibrahimović is not Harry Kane. However, the Bayern academy graduate found his feet as the game progressed. His penalty goal was a cracking shot into the side netting leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. If Ibra can improve his anticipation of his teammates’ movements, he can contribute a lot more and prove his mettle to Vincent Kompany.
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