Bayern Munich crawl to a 1-0 victory over Koln — Player grades

Hosts Bayern Munich narrowly avoid embarrassment, crawl to a dull 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-league Koln.

Manager Grade

Jupp Heynckes — B

His starting lineup was perhaps not the strongest Bayern Munich had to offer, but that’s understandable given the busy-ness of their upcoming schedule. Made the right substitutions at halftime to ensure his team ended the match with all three points.

Player Grades

GK, Tom Starke — B

Bayern’s third-string goalkeeper had very little to do at the Allianz Arena. Despite a few Neuer-esque clearances well outside his own box and one spectacular save in the final five minutes, the formerly retired Tom Starke enjoyed a quiet night between the sticks.

DEF, David Alaba — C-

Bayern’s worst defensive performer on the night, David Alaba looked much more like the David Alaba Bayern fans became used to seeing under Carlo Ancelotti. His crossing was poor and he was shy in defense. Not a good game by the Austrian’s standards.

DEF, Niklas Sule — B

Not to be overshadowed by his partner in the center of defense, Niklas Sule did his job today and did it well. The German giant showed off his pace and defensive intelligence on multiple occassions, as well as his fantastic passing range.

DEF, Jerome Boateng — B

A tale of two halves for the veteran defender. Boateng looked uninspired in the first-half and often tried too hard to force passes that simply weren’t there. However, he was largely influential in Bayern’s second half and found himself all over the offensive half of the pitch. It was his incisive pass that found Thomas Muller’s head leading to the game’s only goal.

DEF, Rafinha — B-

Filling in for Joshua Kimmich on the right side of defense, Rafinha certainly outperformed his left sided counterpart. His five tackles was a match high, showing his excellent defensive work. And he was just as effective in attack, setting up multiple chances that went unconverted.

MID, Arturo Vidal — C+

Vidal couldn’t make it five goals in as many games against Koln, despite an above average display. He was replaced — alongside Coco Tolisso — at halftime for the more attack-minded duo of Jaems Rodriguez and Kingsley Coman.

MID, Sebastian Rudy — B+

Quietly solid throughout the entirety of the match. Rudy was much more influential in the second-half, given more freedom deep in the midfield. His set-piece delivery was equally excellent, and it’s a wonder how he didn’t pick up a single assist. The importance of Rudy’s performance today cannot be overstated.

MID, Corentin Tolisso — C

After his sensational display just last week against PSG, much more was expected of Bayern’s record signing. The young Frenchman, however, failed to leave his mark on the match in the opening 45 minutes and was replaced at halftime.

FWD, Franck Ribery — C-

Largely ineffective against the deep Koln defense, the signs of Ribery’s aging were on full display today. He lost the majority of his dribbling attempts and failed to step up when Bayern were in desperate need of a creative force in attack.

FWD, Robert Lewandowski — C-

Lewandowski’s grade is only as high as it is because of the goal he scored — the eventual game-winner. However, he loses points for missing several good chances, sending almost all of them way over the crossbar.

FWD, Thomas Muller — C

Like Lewandowski, Thomas Muller’s grade would be much lower if not for his game-winning assist. He continually made smart runs, though, and would have had a few more assists on another day.

Next: Serge Gnabry to return to Bayern Munich next summer -- Rummenigge

Subs

MID, James Rodriguez — B-

Who would’ve thought that James Rodriguez would become one of Bayern’s most industrious players? The Colombian seemingly never runs out of steam, storming around the pitch, putting in serious defensive work and playing pinpoint passes around the pitch with ease. He — along with Kingsley Coman — brought the creative attacking spark Bayern Munich so desperately needed after a dull first-half.

FWD, Kingsley Coman — B

The young Frenchman had more successful dribbles (4) in his 45 minutes than the rest of his team did throughout the whole match. His speed and fantastic close control make him a huge threat for any opposition, and he showed just why in the second half today.

FWD (?), Joshua Kimmich — N/A

Brought in as a right-winger of sorts with the match all but over.