In the top game at Bayer Leverkusen, Dayot Upamecano and Minjae Kim prove their quality and secure the tie with outstanding numbers. This is one of the reasons why Max Eberl is canceling the former Bayern transfer destination Jonathan Tah.
When the boss is happy, the employee did a good job. And Max Eberl, sports director of FC Bayern, is “currently very, very happy” with the defense duo Dayot Upamecano and Minjae Kim. They were considered the great uncertainty factor in the new, risk -savvy game system from Vincent Kompany. This is also why haunted for almost a year The name Jonathan Tah About Säbener Straße in Munich.
Bayern boss Eberl no longer wants Tah
Now Eberl cleaned this transfer rumor from the table. “This is currently not an issue for us. You can see that our defense is currently doing well, they have been correct,” said the 51-year-old at “Sky90” on Saturday evening after the gripping top game in Leverkusen. Of all things against the current champion and her defense chief Jonathan Tah, the duel for Bavaria’s defense battle, in which Kim and Upamecano (with a little luck), defended everything that flew to their feet or on the head.
Bayer vs. Bavaria: Upamecano and Kim tower over
More precisely: Upamecano won the most duels on the square (25), Kim had the most clarification actions (15). The Leverkuseners had the upper hand, but at the latest in the penalty area the lively attackers Florian Wirtz and Nathan Tella struggled against the beefic central defenders. The Frenchman and the South Korean seemed perfectly coordinated, especially in the last third. If the one was played out, the other jumped into the breach.
The doubts were great for the new season, not only by the Bayern fans, who remembered one or the other dropout of Upamecano and Kim. To the astonishment of many, the Bayern leadership team decided to sell the Matthijs de Ligt, stable under Tuchel. The dynamic Kim and Upamecano should demonstrate their strengths in the “after-defensive” under Neu-coach Kompany.
Company ball: High risk brings yield
There were some driving appearances, such as at the Bundesliga start in Wolfsburg or in 3: 3 in Frankfurt. But even after the defeats in the Champions League, teammates, coaches and officials agreed – Kim and “Upa” are not the problem. Both ultimately defend man-to-man, no matter which opponent. Inattentiveness, a loss of ball or a lost duel are logically more serious than if the FCB would defend more conservative as under Tuchel.
The top game in Leverkusen was now a treat for defenders. Kompany removed his team noticeably in the first half after initial pressing attempts. Upamecano and Kim tightened the defense bar together with Konrad Laimer and starting eleven debutant Hiroki and defended almost everything away. The crossbar saved twice, once Wirtz moved from six meters the Bayern goal.
Top numbers on the defensive
On the 22nd matchday, the Bayern defensive around Upamecano and Kim was able to look forward to a white vest for the eleventh time and continue to be with 19 goals. At the same time in the previous season, FC Bayern had conceded six more goals (25). There is only a too zero game to catch up with the brand under Tuchel (12).
Table leadership and relegation battle, current gameplays, results and live tickers, scoring lists, mileage and duel statistics and much more: Football in the results center of BR24Sport.
Source: BR24Sport on radio 16.02.2025 – 11:55 a.m.
