Bayern Munich vs. Darmstadt: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich had to come from behind to win and keep their undefeated home record up on Saturday, winning 3-1 against Darmstadt.
Despite the home side dominating the first half, it was the visitors who took the lead with a close-range finish from Sandro Wagner, giving Darmstadt the lead at the break. After half-time, Thomas Muller quickly equased and then put Bayern ahead with a great overhead kick. Robert Lewandowski had three chances therafter, scoring one, being flagged offside wrongly on another and then missing a one-on-one to leave the final score 3-1.
Here are all our winners and losers from the match at the Allianz Arena.
Winner: Thomas Muller
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Playing from a deeper starting position this week, Thomas Muller had to be the driving force in the second half to help Bayern be more of a threat in the penalty box.
In that respect, he very much succeeded: Three runs into the Darmstadt box caused great problems after the break, with the second of those resulting in the equalising goal. Where Muller showed composure and timing with his first, the second goal was all about his individuality and ability to surprise, as he chested down and put an overhead kick into the top corner.
Goalscoring aside, his work rate and contribution to Bayern's play was exceptional throughout.
Loser: Serdar Tasci
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Making his Bundesliga debut for his new club, Serdar Tasci didn't have too much to do at the back for Bayern Munich...but the one time he was asked to be strong defensively, he failed to cope and allowed Wagner to score at the near post.
Tasci fell asleep and left his man on the wrong side as a second cross in quick succession came into the Bayern box, and he couldn't recover his position in time to stop the Darmstadt man having a free shot on goal.
On the few attacks and set pieces Darmstadt had afterward, Tasci defended reasonably well aerially, but he was subbed less than an hour into the match as Bayern looked to get an extra offensive outlet on the pitch.
Winner: Joshua Kimmich
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While Tasci didn't quite deal with the expectation too well, his defensive partner, Joshua Kimmich, again put in an impressive display.
Normally a midfielder, a fourth performance at centre-back in a row has highlighted the 21-year-old's reliability and maturity, and his speed across the ground enabled him to recover positionally more than once in the first hour of the game as Darmstadt tried to get forward plenty.
His passing was assured and sensible and there was rarely any danger of him losing out in one-on-one situations.
Loser: Kingsley Coman
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Having impressed hugely over the first half of the season, Kingsley Coman hasn't quite hit top gear in the last few weeks and struggled to get involved at all against Darmstadt.
The wide attacker hugged the right touchline and saw the ball come his way in the first few minutes of the game repeatedly, but Coman was unable to beat his man or deliver any service into the box. And as the game went on, he fell more and more onto the periphery.
It was no surprise when he was subbed just after the break and, worse for Coman, Franck Ribery returned to good effect with a vibrant performance and late assist.
Winner: Christian Mathenia
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Darmstadt ended up losing 3-1, but it could have been a worse scoreline if not for some stout defending, some good blocks and plenty of alert goalkeeping.
Christian Mathenia conceded three in the end but denied the likes of Arjen Robben, Lewandowski and Arturo Vidal with reflex saves and some proactive movement off his line to take crosses and a couple of lofted-through balls.
More performances along these lines from the 'keeper, and Darmstadt can feel confident about their chances of staying up this season.
