Bayern Munich fall to Stuttgart in dreadful display -- Player grades

Bayern Munich were unstable in defense and toothless in attack as they fall 4-1 to Stuttgart in Jupp Heynckes’ last Bundesliga match as manager.

Manager grade

Jupp Heynckes — A+

Jupp Heynckes makes the grade not because of his team’s display against Stuttgart, but for how impressively he turned around this Bundesliga season for Bayern Munich. Jupp is a living legend for die Roten and deserved much more for in his final league game with the Bavarians. Regardless, his team’s poor display does nothing to tarnish his phenomenal legacy.

Player grades

GK, Sven Ulreich — C+

Almost all of Stuttgart’s goals came after poor defensive mistakes that left Ulreich with no chance for a save. He made a few good saves, but those aren’t enough to overshadow Bayern’s dreadful game.

DEF, Rafinha — C

Playing once again as a makeshift left-back, Rafinha was — like the rest of his defensive mates — caught out by Stuttgart’s ferocious attack far too often. He slightly made up for his lapses in concentration with a tireless display.

DEF, Mats Hummels — C-

Not at all a good game from defensive veteran Mats Hummels. The German was far from his best and left exposed by Stuttgart’s attack on multiple occasions.

DEF, Niklas Sule — C

Slightly better than his central defensive partner, Niklas Sule had a few embarrassing moments of his own. The German giant will no doubt be disappointed to have ended a great debut season in Bavaria with such a poor result.

DEF, Joshua Kimmich — C-

Joshua Kimmich was far from his best at right-back, offering little in terms of an attacking threat and not providing much defensive stability.

MID, Thiago — C+

Thiago was decent for the most part in a more subdued defensive midfield role but far from his best. His passing wasn’t quite up to scratch, and he denied Robert Lewandowski an easy chance for his 30th goal of the season late in the match, opting to try a tough shot on goal rather than sliding a pass across goal to the wide open Pole.

MID, Corentin Tolisso — B

Tolisso was arguably the best player for Bayern Munich in the opening half. The Frenchman passed Bayern’s lone goal into the back of an open net after some great work from Robert Lewandowski and remained an attacking presence throughout his time on the pitch. Capped off a good Bundesliga debut season with another solid display. Expect Coco to play an even bigger role in this Bayern squad next season.

MID, James Rodriguez — C

Like so many others on the team, James would have hoped for much more in his final Bundesliga game after such a stellar debut campaign. Almost all Bayern players were poor today, and James Rodriguez was no exception.

FWD, Franck Ribery — C-

The toll age has taken on Franck Ribery’s body was plain to see against Stuttgart. There was no lack of effort from the Frenchman, but the threat of an end product was also far from being there.

FWD, Robert Lewandowski — C

Robert Lewandowski really wanted that 30th goal of the season, but simply couldn’t find it. He had a few chances, but was denied multiple times by Ron-Robert Zieler. Perhaps he should have done a bit better with his finishes, though. He had some excellent footwork leading up to his assist for Tolisso’s goal, but he no doubt wanted the shot for himself. Lewandowski is in poor form, and really needs to find some motivation between now and next weekend’s DFB Pokal final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

FWD, Thomas Muller — C-

It was performance very reminiscent of the days when Thomas Muller struggled for form under Carlo Ancelotti. Muller was allowed very little space to investigate and had a hard time making any impact on this match. He does, however, still end the season as the Bundesliga’s top provider with 14 assists on the season.

Next: Bayern Munich must make Matthijs de Ligt transfer a priority

Subs

MID, Javi Martinez — C-

Ironically, Bayern became less stable defensively after Javi Martinez entered the pitch. Just minutes after the Spaniard joined the match, he gave the ball away poorly and was turned inside out by Stuttgart’s rapid attack.

FWD, Sandro Wagner — N/A

Sandro Wagner came in and worked hard but couldn’t prove the difference maker for Bayern.

MID, Sebastian Rudy — N/A

Sebastian Rudy joined the match late and had no impact on match proceedings.

Bayern Munich fall to Stuttgart in dreadful display — Player grades

By Benjamin Scott | May 12, 2018