Bayern Munich: Top performers from 3-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava | OneFootball

On the eighth and final matchday of the league phase of the newly-formatted European Champions League, Bayern Munich hosted winless side - Slovan Bratislava at the Allianz Arena. Ahead of the game, there was hope and belief in the Bayern camp that, depending on the results elsewhere, Bayern could win the game by a large enough margin to still finish in eighth place and secure direct qualification for the knockout stage of the competition.

However, the results of the other games, being simultaneously played, did not go Bayern’s way and in the end, they had to be content with a commanding 3-1-win, albeit a victory by a wider margin was being targeted. Despite the disappointment of not having achieved direct qualification for the knockout phase, let us take a look at the three players who shone for the six-time European Champions on Wednesday night.

Joshua Kimmich

Is there any position that this man is not effective in? With Bayern close to an injury crisis as far as the defense goes, Joshua Kimmich played as a center-back alongside Kim Min-jae with the seldom-used Sacha Boey at right-back and Josip Stanisic, recently back from a long absence due to injury, making his first start of the season in the left-back position.

Throughout the game, despite not playing in his favourite position, Kimmich looked like the best player on the pitch. The German Captain dictated play for Bayern from the back. He had 119 touches and completed 94% of his attempted passes (88/94), including the cross from which Thomas Muller scored in the first half. Kimmich also created three big chances.

Despite being so involved in the attack, the 29-year-old never neglected his defensive duties. In that regard, he won both his contested aerial duels and four of five ground duels. His performance on Wednesday was a reminder of his importance to the club and why the Bayern chiefs want him to sign a contract extension.