Jonas Urbig was under massive scrutiny in the Bundesliga after the Augsburg game, with doubts about his role at FC Bayern being publicly discussed. In the Champions League, the 22-year-old was given the opportunity to respond in a sporting manner and made impressive use of it.
In FC Bayern’s 2:1 away win at PSV Eindhoven, Jonas Urbig surprisingly started in goal again. Despite the previous criticism, coach Vincent Kompany decided to put his trust in the young keeper on the international stage as well. Against Augsburg, Urbig had misjudged a corner when equalizing: he jumped past the ball and thus initiated Munich’s first league defeat of the current season.
Urbig repaid the trust placed in him with a strong performance against PSV. The goalkeeper saved six balls, four of them from close range in the penalty area, and was also very present in the build-up play. He initiated attacks on several occasions with precise long balls, including Harry Kane’s 2-1 winner, and was extremely active overall. Urbig received a 9.9 rating from Sofascore and was also voted player of the match by UEFA.
Sporting director Max Eberl gave a clear assessment of the performance after the game: „Now, after all the games he’s played, he’s made one mistake against Augsburg and today he’s in goal here in Eindhoven, which is definitely not easy, and he plays a game like that, which shows what a great character he is and what a very good goalkeeper he is.“
Urbig modest: „Focus on the team’s success“
Urbig himself remained deliberately reserved after the final whistle. On dealing with the praise, he said: „Of course, I’m perhaps taking the momentum with me to a certain extent now that things went well today. But for me, every game starts from the beginning.“ He also calmly put the mistake against Augsburg into perspective: „The team gave me great support, even after the game against Augsburg. That’s why we went into the game here as a team with a lot of self-confidence. Every single one of us, including me.“
The fact that he only found out about his possible involvement after the final training session did not change Urbig’s approach. „I was told yesterday after the final training session that I might play. But as I said, I’d already said a few times beforehand that I’m always prepared in case something happens.“
Something else was decisive for him anyway: „Of course I was happy to play today. But it’s much more important that it’s not about me, but about the team.“ The 22-year-old also remained consistent when it came to confidence: „Yes, of course I’m happy about it, but as I’ve already said, the team’s success is paramount. I think we should talk about it like that because we did a great job as a team today and accepted the game as it went.“