Bayern Munich stave off Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 — Player grades

Bayern Munich traveled away to Eintracht Frankfurt in Bundesliga action after a solid midweek UCL result. The German champions took 3 points, but not without difficulty.

Manager Grade

Jupp Heynckes — B-

It’s hard to put much fault on the coach for this one. In the end, Bayern Munich secured the win and kept a clean sheet as well. Consequently, in addition to a resilient Frankfurt side, the five changes made to the Bayern XI definitely took a toll on their performance. Robert Lewandowski was rested, as were (mostly) David Alaba and Mats Hummels. This is surely a rotational effort and we’ll see a more prepared line-up in the remaining December fixtures.

Player Grades

GK, Tom Starke — A

The poor Bayern veteran just won’t be left to retire in peace. In addition to the rested players, Sven Ulreich suffered a (minor) discomfort shortly before kick-off. Bayern then had to rely on their loyal 3rd string keeper to stand in. Hopefully Ulreich’s pains are not enough to keep him away, but the shocking degree of ‘keeper injuries is troublesome. Nonetheless, the backup-to-the-backup performed perfectly whenever he was called upon.

DEF, Joshua Kimmich — C+

Everyone, put down the pitchforks, I do have a point to make. Kimmich is undoubtedly a rising star and the future for both Bayern Munich and Germany, particularly for the right-back position. Not long ago, both teams feared what would become of that position upon Philipp Lahm’s retirement. However, for today, while certainly better than against PSG, this wasn’t his best outing. His absolute peach of a cross to Arturo Vidal to net the decider was indeed sublime. But, on the defensive front, there were notable cases where he was thoroughly exploited on the right and needed to rely on his center-backs to bail him out of jail. Kimmich’s next phase in development has to be finding a way to balance his attacking talents with his defense ones.

DEF, Jerome Boateng — A

Jerome Boateng was absolutely the stand-out defender in the back-line, and even the stand-out performer overall, at least for Bayern. He delivered nothing short of a commanding performance across the back four, and was key to not just winning the match, but keeping a clean sheet. Boateng delivered crunching tackles, interceptions, clearances, you name it. The big German’s positioning and patience was also excellent.

DEF, Niklas Sule — B-

Jerome Boateng’s center-back compatriot did admirably, if out-shined by Boateng himself. Niklas Sule did well enough in the back in the central pairing to help usher out and intercept Eintracht Frankfurt attacks. Although he wasn’t looking quite as composed as Jerome, his efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Truly one of Bayern’s best summer buys for the future.

DEF, Rafinha — B-

With David Alaba being mostly rested for this match, Rafinha slotted into his usual left-back spot. Thankfully, the Brazilian put on a competent display, particularly in defense, if not anything spectacular. There were some cases where he looked beat, but Rafinha ultimately contributed to some important defensive plays.

MID, Arturo Vidal — B-

The Chilean ultimately got the job done and decided the match early. Just about 20 minutes in, Arturo Vidal towered above the two who should have been marking him, hammering the ball beyond Lukas Hradecky. Since Jupp Heynckes gave him a serious discussion on his form, he seems a man with a point to prove. However, some clumsy defensive “efforts” nearly put Bayern in painful situations.

MID, Javi Martinez — C+

Since Javi made the switch back from center-back to defensive-midfield, the Spaniard has looked much more comfortable and his defensive skills are much more at home. He did enough to not make any glaring mistakes and help defend, but definitely not his best game in the role. Along with the rest of the midfield, they succumbed to several high-press tactics from Frankfurt. But, of course, that blame should be shared with the whole midfield.

MID, James Rodriguez — C

The Colombian has definitely enjoyed a good run of form — and game time — under Jupp Heynckes. He’s largely been artistic and lethal in stringing attacks for Bayern. Against Frankfurt, however, this wasn’t much of a special showing. Again, no glaring mistakes, just lacked that creative flair.

FWD, Franck Ribery — D

Ribery can be fairly excused for this one. He has recently come back from a long layoff, and it shows. Franck Ribery put in a decent display against PSG in the first-half, but later ran out of gas. The issue here was namely a lack of any creativity. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t conjure up anything of note on the day. Hopefully he recovers soon.

FWD, Thomas Muller — F

Painful to say, but Thomas Muller was utterly toothless here. The German had to drop back some just to get a touch on the ball, and misplaced some passes on top of it. Up top, there was absolutely nothing to note in terms of goal-scoring threat. Granted, we can chalk much of this up to Muller being forced to somehow fill Lewandowski’s role, which is something he’s clearly uncomfortable with.

FWD, Kingsley Coman — C-

While Kingsley Coman was the one semblance of a competent 3-man forward line, he wasn’t enough to make the attack anything to write home about. The young Frenchman clearly has been seeing a renaissance of form, and his talents are clear. However, he couldn’t create anything spectacular against Frankfurt.

Next: Bayern Munich win ugly match against Ruthless Frankfurt

Subs

FWD, Robert Lewandowski — N/A

The Polish striker was rested for this match due to some minor midweek pains. As such, his late addition for Kingsley Coman and lack of impact doesn’t really warrant scoring.

MID, Corentin Tolisso — N/A

As far as the substitutions go, Tolisso received a decent chunk of playing time since Vidal was taken off for a potential red-card threat. However, while his addition didn’t spark much imagination, perhaps being a second-half sub does not really garner a fair score.

MID, David Alaba — N/A

The Austrian was rested for the most part in this one. But to keep him fresh, David Alaba came on for Ribery to get at least some time. Nothing to note of here, so no score for him either.