Bayern Munich cruise past Celtic, win 3-0 — Player grades

Bayern Munich dominate Celtic at home in Jupp Heynckes’ second match since re-joining the club. Here’s a look at how the players performed.

Manager Grade

Jupp Heynckes — A

Heynckes got it all right in the second match of his fourth tenure at Bayern Munich. Hardly rotating the squad that demolished Freiburg at the weekend, the German became the oldest ever manager to coach a game in the Champions League, and he did it with style.

Player Grades

GK, Sven Ulreich — B+

Spent most of the match completely untested but stepped up when it mattered, making a handful of important saves to prevent any hint of a Celtic comeback. Ulreich is certainly growing in confidence, and Bayern Munich are all the better for it.

DEF, David Alaba — B-

The Austrian full-back seems to have truly been revitalized under Jupp Heynckes’ management. He was threatening when attacking and solid when defending. Alaba never quite looked his best under Carlo Ancelotti; perhaps that’s about to change.

DEF, Mats Hummels — A-

Hummels led the match with 84 passes, an impressive total for a center-back. His passing wasn’t his only offensive highlight. It was his smooth header off an Arjen Robben corner that gave Bayern their 3-0 lead.

DEF, Jerome Boateng — C+

It was by no means a poor match from Boateng, but he was definitely overshadowed by his defensive partner. Nevertheless, every match Boateng plays a full 90 minutes is a big step toward him regaining form as one of the world’s best central defenders.

DEF, Joshua Kimmich — A

A typical display for Bayern’s first-choice right-back. By “typical performance” I of course mean that Kimmich was one of (if not the definitive) best players on the pitch. His excellent crossing created Bayern’s first, and his spectacular header doubled the lead later on. Great stuff from the Kid!

MID, Thiago — A-

Thiago did exactly what was expected from him in the midfield. While Sebastian Rudy sat back to provide defensive stability, Thiago roamed all over the pitch. Other than a few rogue first-touches, his dribbling and passing were up to the lofty standards he has set for himself.

MID, Sebastian Rudy — C+

A quiet match from the former Hoffenheim man. Rudy has proven himself a fine addition since making the move to Munich, but could not provide any spectacular moments against Celtic. He was content to sit deep in the midfield and play a holding role while Thiago ran all over the pitch, and his defensive work ensured the Bayern Munich backline didn’t have too much to do.

MID, Kingsley Coman — A-

Today’s match was nothing short of excellent from Kingsley Coman, who seems to only improve with each passing match. He terrorized the Celtic defense on the left-flank and was awarded an assist for his efforts. The Frenchman is turning into a player of real quality right before our eyes.

MID, Thomas Muller — B-

Opened up the scoring in typical Muller fashion, placing himself at the right place at the right time to pounce on the rebound of a saved Lewandowski header. He continually placed himself in dangerous positions for the rest of the match, and was unfortunate not to grab a second goal late on, his fantastic header just saved by the Celtic goalkeeper. Fun fact: Thomas Muller is now the first German to score in ten separate Champions League seasons.

MID, Arjen Robben — B+

Playing in his 100th ever Champions League match, Robben started off a little slow, but certainly grew into the game. His wonderfully taken corner assisted Hummels for Bayern’s third, and he could have had a goal of his own on another day.

FWD, Robert Lewandowski — C+

The Poland international simply couldn’t make it happen today, and it certainly wasn’t for a lack of effort. He threatened the Celtic defense on several occasions, his header creating the opportunity for Muller’s opener, but he simply couldn’t find the back of the net.

Next: James Rodriguez is confident he'll succeed under Jupp Heynckes

Subs

MID, Arturo Vidal — C+

Came in and immediately brought with him a shot of energy to Bayern’s midfield. With the game basically wrapped up there was hardly anything he could do to persuade it in his team’s favor any further.

MID, James Rodriguez — N/A

His cameo appearance wasn’t enough to warrant a grade. However, he did play Arturo Vidal in with an expertly placed cross, but the Chilean fired straight at the Celtic ‘keeper. Having missed the starting line-up for two matches running, James will surely start against Hamburg on Saturday.

DEF, Rafinha — N/A

Replaced Kimmich late on and had little to do.

*Note: Stats taken from WhoScored.com