Search icon

Football

11th Mar 2017

WATCH: Mats Hummels may have just pulled off the tackle of the season

Outrageous defending

Tom Victor

When is a tap-in not a tap-in? When Mats Hummels is there to do Mats Hummels things.

Eintracht Frankfurt forward Branimir Hrgota must have thought he was about to give his side a surprise lead at the Allianz Arena when he beat the offside trap, rounded Manuel Neuer and prepared to slot the ball into the empty net.

If the Swede had looked around when he received the ball, he will have seen no Bayern defender anywhere near him, so we can forgive him for not expecting an opponent to even make the effort to close down the ball once Neuer had committed himself.

Now, we’re not saying Mats Hummels is Superman, but Mats Hummels is definitely Superman. How else do you explain him getting back to toe the ball away in the nick of time?

We’ve watched this back about six times now, and we haven’t stopped being amazed when the net doesn’t bulge.

Even after watching Hummels get back again and again, we still expect Hrgota to find the net.

You probably didn’t even need telling that it didn’t even take 25 minutes more for Bayern to go 2-0 up, with Robert Lewandowski and Douglas Costa scoring in quick succession before half-time.

That’s why they’re top of the league and on course for yet another Bundesliga title.

https://vine.co/v/OV2wQb70jh2

 

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10