Bayern Munich thrash Mainz, cruise to 4-0 win — Player grades

In a much more convincing fashion, Bayern Munich remind us of what they are capable of when they hit their stride. The German champions made easy work of Mainz at home.

Manager Grade

Carlo Ancelotti — B+

The starting XI the Italian boss drew up for the match today proved to be very cohesive and competent, particularly in attack. With all the criticism plaguing Carlo Ancelotti and his club, this will surely help tilt public opinion a little more in his direction. Granted, this will far from fix the situation out right, but it’s definitely not a bad response. The squad showed to be very efficient in their transition to attack, something Bayern Munich have been complacent in with their last couple of games.

Player Grades

GK, Manuel Neuer — B+

Bayern and Germany’s number one shot-stopper was clearly on his toes today. Neuer wasn’t called upon too many times during the match, but the times he was the big man between the posts pulled out some top-drawer saves. His save from a laser shot towards the end of the match proved to be his highlight moment.

DEF, Rafinha — B-

The past couple of matches saw the Brazilian-German give some pleasantly solid performances. Rafinha has been shouldering more pressure with Alaba and Bernat out with injury. He looked fairly competent on the day, making sure he was responsible in the back and stunting some Mainz attacks. He didn’t look quite amazing in attack, but still put in a responsible performance contributing to build-up play.

DEF, Jérôme Boateng — C+

Bayern Munich looked pretty safe in defense the majority of the match. However, there were a few surprise scares from defensive lapses in concentration. A couple of instances saw Boateng beat in pace and position and were it not for Neuer, there would probably be a bigger dip in this score. Boateng alone, though, was not entirely to blame for these few slip-ups and could perhaps be somewhat forgiven due to his recent recovery from injury. The German defender still made a few interceptions and ushered the ball away from danger.

DEF, Mats Hummels — C

Once again, thanks to Bayern not having to worry too much in defense, Hummels’ mistakes didn’t look as dire. While Hummels wasn’t terrible by any means, he did look shaky at parts of the game. The first Mainz attack came due to his, and subsequently Boateng’s, poor positioning to allow a dangerous play between the two center-backs. Later on in the match, Hummels had a shocking giveaway while in possession that nearly led to a goal. Overall, Hummels had an average enough display to help the squad to another important clean sheet.

DEF, Joshua Kimmich — A

Since the Hoffenheim defeat, Kimmich has shown that performance was nothing but a minor blip on his track record. The young German star put in one of his most confident performances at right-back. First, in defense, while Kimmich didn’t necessarily make any dramatic tackles, he made his defensive contribution through some important interceptions and ball clearances. His most notable moments came in attack. Kimmich’s drive of the transition into attack was impeccable, serving up a whopping three assists out of the games four goals. His crosses were mostly accurate and in dangerous places, eventually teeing up a beautiful cross which found Lewandowski’s head to make it 4-0.

MID, Arturo Vidal — B

Bayern Munich’s midfield gladiator made his return to the starting XI with a solid performance. The Chilean gave an accurate display in his passing on the pitch. He also showed that — despite being out for a spell after the international break — he’s more than capable of continuing the role of the midfield enforcer. Vidal will surely continue growing in fitness as he collects more game time.

MID, Thiago — B+

Once again, Thiago continues to show his priceless value to this club, displaying his work-horse attitude up and down the pitch throughout the 90 minutes. With a total of 92/98 successful passes he concluded the game with 94% passing accuracy. Combined with his 5 tackles, Thiago shows tenacity both in attacking creativity and tracking back in defense.

MID, Kingsley Coman — B-

The young Frenchman once again looked very lively and dangerous down the left flank. Coman proved a constant threat to the Mainz defense with his pace and dribbling ability. Despite this, however, his composure and decision making in the penalty box proved the bane of his performance. After a great run from him and Robben on a counter, Coman missed an absolute sitter, rattling the crossbar. He later made an excellent dribble into the box, dumbfounding a number of Mainz defenders, but was sloppy and slow in getting the final pass to a free Lewandowski. These issues kept his performance just shy of excellent. Regardless, Coman’s talent is undeniable and he looked very promising.

MID, Thomas Müller — A-

It’s incredibly reassuring to see Müller put in such a great performance after recent drama. The Bayern Munich icon showed how vital his qualities are to the overall team performance. Müller displayed his raumdeuter skill-sets, knowing exactly when and where to be to set up goal-scoring chances. He both set up some deft passes to his teammates and got himself into some lethal positions, namely with his opener. Thomas topped a great performance with a pin-point cross to give Lewandowski his first goal of the match.

MID, Arjen Robben — B+

Arjen Robben also saw a welcome return to his more usual strong offensive play. The Dutchman was yet another thorn in Mainz’s side, turning the right side inside out in blistering counter-attacks. Robben doubled the Bavarian’s advantage after a surprising, but no less amazing, right-footed chip over René Adler.

FWD, Robert Lewandowski — A-

With all the controversy surrounding the club and Lewandowski, this match should provide a little more comfort. The Pole seemed to grow in confidence and composure as the match grew on, as he finally broke through in the 50th minute, making a timely run to meet Müller’s cross. Lewandowski doubled his personal score after nodding in an excellent header off Kimmich’s cross into the bottom corner of Adler’s goal.

Next: Bayern and the Lewandowski dilemma

Subs

DEF, Niklas Süle — N/A

While the newly bought center-back was subbed into the game with about 30 minutes to play, at this point in the match there was not much difference to his added presence. This isn’t against him, however, since Bayern cruised the rest of the match.

MID, Franck Ribéry — N/A

As mentioned with Süle, the Frenchman’s substitution had no meaningful enough impact to give a score.

MID, Sebastian Rudy — N/A

Rudy was subbed on even later than the former players, with only about 20 minutes to play. Aside from a rocket of a shot to shake the post, his late appearance doesn’t merit a score.