Jersey swap: Jonathan Tah

Tah was an impressive and confident defender for Leverkusen. In front of the German national coach Julian Nagelsmann – and perhaps also the scouts from FC Bayern Munich – Tah put in a rock-solid performance, and he had to. Without his intervention, including through Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry in moments of great danger in the second half, Bayern could have easily gotten on the scoresheet. Tah had every right to pump his chest and celebrate after each of his stops.

Long balls to test the spaces Bayern had left behind were also an important part of Leverkusen’s game plan, and Tah’s distribution stats – 10 long passes attempted, seven completed, per Sofascore – also stood out.

And yes. He did The happen. The one that led to this:

Photo by MICHAELA STACHE/AFP via Getty Images

The Emperor: Daniel Peretz

Peretz probably didn’t expect to play today. Manuel Neuer, who had never been sent off in his entire career, experienced a moment of true madness in the 17th minute – and the young Israeli goalkeeper was forced into action.

Peretz was tested early on by an aggressive Leverkusen press – and again by several moments in which The Werkself managed to get behind the Bayern line. Peretz mastered the task, remained calm, made saves and kept his team in the game. His save against Jeremie Frimpong from close range in the 32nd minute showed his calmness in a difficult situation, and his long-footer in the second half against Serge Gnabry – which was made under duress – showed his distribution skills, too if he’s nowhere near the OG sweeper-keeper-GOAT.

Does Bavaria have something here? Well, Neuer is only banned from the cup, from which Bayern are now eliminated. But that was a nice performance for the backup goalkeeper, who needs a lot more experience to take his next steps. Can Bayern get loan interest in January?

Football god: Konrad Laimer

What a beast. Laimer has a motor that won’t stop and Bayern needed all of it, especially after Manuel Neuer was sent off.

The battle of the evening was for Laimer against Leverkusen speedster Jeremie Frimpong, whom Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso moved from the right wing to the left wing at the start of the game in order to take advantage of him. But the Austrian was more than able to hold his own in what quickly became a very physical fight.

Laimer was always there in the future too. Going high up the pitch, leaving your teammates behind and running into the penalty area. The man was tireless and his presence all over the pitch secured him a place in the midfield award. Two-way everything player today.

Honorable Mention: Aleksandar Pavlović. The youngster came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute, which didn’t really give him enough time to impact the game. But you could see the difference a second crisp distributor made once he had the ball. More of this soon please!

The Bomber: Jamal Musiala

Bayern’s dynamo couldn’t get on the scoresheet today, but that wasn’t because they didn’t dare. Musiala had to wear multiple roles at the start of the game – attacking midfielder, second striker behind Michael Olise’s false nine, second No.6 when he had to drop deep to help build play. This only got worse when Bayern were reduced to ten men and Musiala managed everything. Dribbling, driving, threading passes… unfortunately without success.

Nevertheless, Musiala registered three key passes and was constantly fouled. His energy and drive were the key to Bayern maintaining their momentum going forward despite being numerically inferior.

Coman was well represented on the left. But the man has to stop going to the moon.

Master of the game: Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich did his job and you can always rely on it. The Bayern metronome, Kimmich’s role as coordinator and quarterback of the Bayern structure became even more important when Neuer was out. Luckily for Bayern, he did it exceptionally well and in the rare moments where he made mistakes, he made up for it – a last-ditch effort against Florian Wirtz that saved Bayern a second concession in the final minutes.

As a set-piece shooter, he also created some good chances for Bayern, especially in the first half. It’s a shame that nothing came of it, but the Bayern captain did everything he could to keep his team in the game.

Who else deserves a shout out? Let us know Comments below!