Bayern Munich dominate Borussia Dortmund, win 3-1 — Player grades

In the seasons second Der Klassiker, Bayern Munich dominate Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park and emerge with a well-deserved 3-1 victory.

Manager Grade

Jupp Heynckes — A

Whereas Peter Bosz failed to impress yet again, Jupp Heynckes got it all right in his first Klassiker since returning to Bayern Munich for his fourth stint in charge. His line-up and tactics were both spot-on, and there was never any doubt who would win the managerial battle in this match.

Player Grades

GK, Sven Ulreich — A-

There wasn’t really much Ulreich could do to stop Marc Bartra’s beautifully taken shot late in the match. However, he made several impressive saves in difficult one-on-one scenarios. After a rough start to the ’17-18 Bundesliga season, Ulreich’s stepping up and proving an admirable deputy to Manuel Neuer.

DEF, David Alaba — B+

A much improved performance from the Austrian full-back than we’ve become accustomed to. Defensively he was solid, but it was going forward where he really stepped up, even scoring Bayern’s third. He’s been noticeably better since Jupp Heynckes returned, and today was no exception to that.

DEF, Mats Hummels — A

Unlucky not to finish the game with a clean-sheet, Mats Hummels played a fantastic match against his former club. His defensive work was excellent, and he’s very unfortunate not to have ended the match with an assist or two after some supremely taken long balls.

DEF, Niklas Sule — B

Not quite as good as his central defensive partner, Sule gave a slightly mixed bag of performances. Other than a few instances where Christian Pulisic got the better of him, the German giant was an absolute rock at the back. He showcased his speed early on, tracking back quickly to just deny Aubameyang a shot on goal.

DEF, Joshua Kimmich — C

Despite his assist, this was a relatively poor performance for Bayern’s wunderkind. There’s no doubting his offensive capabilities, but the Kid needs to put in some practice on his defensive game.

MID, Thiago — B

A team-high 62 passes, everything positive for Bayern went through the Spanish midfield maestro. With Javi Martinez sitting much deeper in the midfield, Thiago has the freedom he needs to storm forward with the ball on offense and press high up the pitch on defense.

MID, Javi Martinez — B-

Once again featuring in midfield (as he often has since Heynckes’ return), Javi once again played his role in defensive midfield expertly. Broke up several Dortmund counter-attacks but did make a few silly mistakes.

MID, Kingsley Coman — C+

Like a few others on his team, Coman was not quite up to his recent standards against Borussia Dortmund. He started off slow thanks to some good defending from Dortmund’s Bartra, but the Frenchman eventually grew into the match.

MID, James Rodriguez — B+

James had a relatively quiet evening, but was still massively effective for die Bayern. He created Robben’s opener with a few exquisite touches, then technically grabbed his second assist of the game when Alaba’s cross found the back of the net. The Colombian looks to finally be settling in at Munich, and we’re all reaping the rewards for it.

MID, Arjen Robben — A

The Flying Dutchman rolled back the years, opening the scoring in sublime fashion and remaining a genuine threat throughout. Serving as captain in Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller’s stead, Arjen Robben remains a vital cog in the Bavarian machine at the ripe old age of 33.

FWD, Robert Lewandowski — B-

Robert Lewandowski continues to be a frustrating player leading the Bayern line. In what’s become a rather common theme in recent months, Lewy fluffed several easy chances, only to score on a difficult one. He got his goal (almost two) so it’s hard to complain. But it’s hard to shake that lingering feeling that Lewandowski can still do much, much more.

Next: Bayern Munich may still make a winter move for Alexis Sanchez

Subs

DEF, Rafinha — C-

Even in the short amount of time Rafinha was on the pitch it was easy to see he was a liability in defense.

MID, Sebastian Rudy — N/A

On for the final ten minutes, Rudy did nothing of note.

MID, Arturo Vidal — N/A

He played the final three minutes plus stoppage time. Hardly enough to warrant a grade.