Thiago Alcantara was the celebrated man. After a good hour he saved FC Bayern in Mainz with his goal. The teammates hurried to the Spaniard after he had netted a 2-1 winning goal, embraced and celebrated him – only Joshua Kimmich did not. The backfielder first fell around the neck of another Bayern pro, without whom the winning goal would not have been scored: Renato Sanches.
“The second goal, that’s his ball win. The will he had to win this ball at all costs, that’s how he wins the game for us,” Kimmich is quoted after the Sport1 game: “Not alone, that’s also clear, because Lewy still played it in and Thiago made it. But those are situations that are extremely important. It’s not always the scorer who decides the game.”
Joshua Kimmich Honours
Club
- Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
- DFB-Pokal: 2015–16
- DFL-Supercup: 2016, 2017, 2018
International
- Germany
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2014
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2017
Individual
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016
- UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2016
- Germany national team Player of the Year: 2017
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2017–18
- FIFA FIFPro World XI 3rd team: 2018
What happened?
Thomas Müller wants to serve the starting Robert Lewandowski with a long ball from the right wing shortly behind the centre line. But the imprecise, half-height ball is intercepted by Moussa Niakhate. The Mainz defender wants to initiate the counterattack immediately, Sanches smells the roast, anticipates correctly, runs cleverly into the password path, captures the ball back and brings it to Lewandowski.
The striker pulls right into the penalty area, crosses at the right moment and the Thiago, who has moved up with him, straightens from about six meters to 2:1. The Bavarians had the lead and the control back in the game and brought the victory dull but in the end safely over time.
Sanches, who came into the game just a few minutes before his decisive action for the twisted Leon Goretzka, was one of them. The 21-year-old Portuguese provided midfield stability in the final stages.
Even though he recently took his seats on the bench more often after his gala appearances at the beginning of the season, Sanches confirms his positive development under Kovac and finally seems to have arrived at FC Bayern. Pots of Luck Casino are a new and innovative option when it comes to online casino options.
This is not hidden from his fellow players either. Kimmich continues: “I take my hat off to you when you come here alone at the age of 18. He also had a certain backpack on. In his first time he didn’t do so easily, but then he comes back and says quite clearly that he wants to assert himself and play here. That’s remarkable how he does it mentally. He had to put up with a lot, too.“