In The Zone: How Jonas Urbig shone for Bayern in PSV win
Thursday, January 29, 2026
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Hans Leitert, a member of UEFA's goalkeeping advisory group, analyses Jonas Urbig's fine performance in the Matchday 8 win over PSV.
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Matchday 8 proved a memorable night for goalkeepers in the UEFA Champions League. Not only was there Anatoliy Trubin's crucial added-time goal for Benfica against Real Madrid, but in Eindhoven, Bayern's Jonas Urbig offered an exciting glimpse of the future.
Deputising for Manuel Neuer for the first time in this season's competition, the 22-year-old gave a Player of the Match performance in Bayern's 2-1 victory over PSV. As will be shown in the following analysis, brought to you by FedEx, Urbig made some outstanding saves and displayed an impressive range of passes too.
"The pressure is always high at Bayern but it was such an impressive performance from a young goalkeeper," said UEFA Technical Observer Erik ten Hag. "He had a big impact on the game, starting in the first half with two incredible saves, and he also gave some great passes, particularly his pre-assist for Harry Kane's winning goal."
Displaying technical excellence with saves
The first video features Urbig’s saves from an Ivan Perišić header and a deflected shot by Joey Veerman.
Explaining the technical excellence involved, Hans Leitert, a member of UEFA's goalkeeping advisory group, starts with the Perišić header, saying: "First, he deals well with the opposition block – he isn't distracted and slightly adjusts his position after realising it’s an inswinging ball. Next, he is properly 'set' when Perišić heads the ball – his feet are in contact with the ground so he can push off in time to get to the ball. That timing is absolutely crucial."
Moving on to Urbig's full-stretch save from Veerman, Leitert observes: "We should highlight his capacity to process the information from a cognitive point of view and then his physical ability to control his body despite being off balance and recover and react to the ball's drastic change of trajectory."
This was Urbig's fifth appearance overall in the competition and it featured six saves. According to the Goals Prevented metric, they had a combined value of 0.93 – a total surpassed last night only by Eintracht Frankfurt's Kauã Santos.
Distribution also catches the eye
The other eye-catching aspect of his performance was his distribution and this second video displays his above-mentioned pre-assist, a 68m pass to Luis Díaz.
Leitert explains: "He has an excellent first touch with his right foot which pushes the ball to his left side to escape any pressure and give him time. Then, once he's identified the best option, he executes a perfectly driven long ball with an ideal trajectory."
The fact he made it with his supposedly 'weaker' left foot underlines all the more the considerable potential of Neuer’s young deputy.
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