Despite an injury scare, Bayern Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlović happy with win over Augsburg— a team leader in the making

Top three Bayern Munich players from their tough 3-2 triumph over Augsburg. Bayern’s crucial victory has reduced their deficit to just two points from the top spot.

The injury-plagued Bayern Munich club traveled to the WWK Arena on Saturday to play Augsburg, a team in the middle of the table. On matchday 19, the defending Bundesliga Champions did just enough to win all three points and cut Leverkusen’s lead at the top of the table to just two points despite playing with somewhat of a patchwork squad. The following three players shone out for Die Roten in a thrilling and competitive match (Stats courtesy: Sofascore).

Aleksandar Pavlovic

Once again Aleksandar Pavlovic delivered a performance that justified the decision by Bayern’s top brass to postpone the pursuit of a new number six beyond the current transfer window.

Making just his fourth Bundesliga start, and playing for the first time alongside Leon Goretzka as the midfield double pivot, the 19-year-old defensive midfielder showed a great awareness of his surroundings throughout the game, which was reflected by his sense of positioning, and his 96% pass completion rate. The German Under-20 international also opened the scoring for the visitors in the 23rd minute. His goal helped Bayern to settle into the match after a nervy opening 20 minutes. However, it was quite unfortunate for him and Bayern that he had to be substituted near the end of the match due to injury. Bayern have confirmed that it was just a cramp.

Alphonso Davies

Alphonso Davies was brought back into the starting lineup for Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Union Berlin after being left out of the game due to Bayern’s numerous defensive injuries. The Canadian full-back, 23, took full advantage of the chance.

In first half stoppage time, he scored a beautiful goal with his weaker right foot in a daisy-cutter strike that made it 2-0. The second goal provided Bayern breathing room at the break as Augsburg continued to take Bayern on every chance. Throughout the second half, Davies did not particularly stand out. But this performance suggests that, in the midst of rumors about his future, the Roadrunner has found his focus again.

Leon Goretzka

Selecting the third name on the list was not a simple task. Any one of Bayern’s four starting attackers may have been on the roster. Nonetheless, Leon Goretzka merits a spot on this list for his excellent midfield play when Joshua Kimmich was out.

Goretzka’s ability to read the game was crucial in preventing the home team’s aggression from overwhelming Bayern’s midfield. With Pavlovic’s work ethic and positional knowledge, the German midfielder was able to perform well in a slightly deeper spot. Additionally, Goretzka replaced Pavlovic as the young player was transitioning to the number eight spot. He set up Davies for Bayern’s second goal with a deft pass on the outside of his right foot. Even though Goretzka only completed 79% of his passes, he gave the midfield strength and stability. All in all, it was yet another impressive performance from him and further evidence to, at the very least, put off getting that new number six.