PLAYER REVIEWS | Bayern Munich 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen – Leverkusen canceled the tie after outstanding Bayern performance

In the first match of the season and a real heavyweight match, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich drew 1-1 at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern Munich dominated the ball throughout the first half and Leverkusen could not see the ball at all. But Bayern never really troubled Lukas Hradecky either and the visitors then took the lead when Aleksander Pavlovic’s back pass went out for a corner, resulting in Robert Andrich scoring from distance after the corner was cleared.

Although Leverkusen took the lead, they failed to hold on to the game and Bayern equalized when Pavlovic beat Hradecky with a long shot.

Bayern would continue to dominate the game come the second half and had a couple of good chances to take the lead with Michael Olise being denied by Hradecky and Serge Gnabry hitting the woodwork twice. Die Werkself struggled once again to challenge Manuel Neuer on the opposing side.

Conclusions:

Leverkusen will be the happiest team with the result. Defensively they have improved a lot compared to the last few games and holding off such a dominant Bayern side for 90 minutes will give them confidence. However, they were lacking on the offensive end and this is something Xabi Alonso will need to work on when the teams meet again in the new year.

In their first major test under Vincent Kompany, Bayern were impressive in dominating Leverkusen and troubling Neuer. This match will be the first of a tough series of fixtures as Bayern Munich travel to Eintracht Frankfurt following their game against Aston Villa next weekend.

Bayern Munich’s 11:

Manuel Neuer (5)Raphaël Guerreiro (6)Dayot Upamecano (6)Kim Min Jae (6)Alphonso Davies (6)Aleksander Pavlovich (7)Joshua Kimmich (6)Michael Olise (6)Jamal Musiala (6)Serge Gnabry (6)Harry Kane (5)

Others: Kingsley Coman (5), Leroy Sané (6), Konard Laimer (5), Thomas Müller (-)

Bayer Leverkusen’s 11:

Lukas Hradecky (6)Edmond Tapsoba (6)Jonathan Tah (6)Piero Hincapié (6)Jeremie Frimpong (5)Granit Xhaka (5)Robert Andrich (6)Alejandro Grimaldo (5)Martin Terrier (5)Florian Wirtz (5)Victor Boniface (5)

Others: Amine Adli (5), Nathan Tella (5), Exequiel Palacios (-), Jeanuël Belocian (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Aleksander Pavlovic (7)

The midfielder’s back pass to Neuer, who went out for the corner from which Leverkusen scored, would normally have brought down a player, but not Pavlovic. The 20-year-old immediately responded with a long-range effort of his own, but beyond his goal contribution, Pavlovic showed once again why he is such a special talent as he always looked cool and calm on the ball in a high-pressure game. . Form and performances kept Joǎo Palhinha on the sidelines in the summer transfer window.

GGFN | Jack Meenan