Bayern Munich see through 4-0 throttling of Freiburg — Player grades

After a disappointing draw with Hertha Berlin last weekend, Bayern Munich impressively marched forward with a 4-0 throttling of SC Freiburg.

Manager Grade

Jupp Heynckes — A

Jupp Heynckes went a little experimental with his line-up today, opting to leave out players like Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, Franck RIbery, etc. in favor of players like Sandro Wagner and Corentin Tolisso. He even opted to start Juan Bernat, a wing-back by trade, in the offensive as an attacking winger. These pre-match decisions, at first, were somewhat questionable. But as the match progressed the mixed lineup showed impressive chemistry, showing what may be another option for a Bayern Munich starting XI down the road.

Player Grades

GK, Sven Ulreich — A

Sven Ulreich, what a guy. In the early moments of the match, Freiburg striker Nils Petersen received an absolutely wide open through ball, but the outstretched leg of Ulreich was too much for Petersen to handle. Ulreich didn’t see much other action aside from denying a few crosses and a save late in the match, when the contest was well over. Ulreich continues to show coach Joachim Low and the rest of Europe exactly why he should be included in the Germany World Cup squad.

DEF, David Alaba — B

Alaba played well, roaming up and down the wing as he always does, creating play after play. The Austrian also showed his prowess under pressure multiple times getting out of, what could have proven to be, very sticky situations.

DEF, Mats Hummels — A-

Hummels, as always, played cool, calm and collected. He racked up the most touches of the ball in the match just a week after he set a season-high of the same stat. An impressive long pass from Hummels led to Bayern’s first goal of the match, as he found Thomas Muller on the other end who somehow forced the opener.

DEF, Jerome Boateng — B-

Boateng felt a little lost this match. I can’t exactly pinpoint what it was, but plays like random back heels to keep a ball in bounds that led to a Freiburg counter-attack and some errant passes in the box to no one just made him seem a bit lost. All-in-all, Boateng played a solid defensive match, though.

DEF, Joshua Kimmich — A

Kimmich played a great match from minute one to minute ninety. From good defensive play, an impressive work rate, and a constant barrage of balls into the box, Kimmich showed his world-class prowess at the young age of 22 and continues his march as one of Bayern’s most crucial players. He also added an assist to Thomas Muller, but we will get to that.

MID, Arturo Vidal — B-

Vidal had a quiet match, but he also played well, just like his teammates. A well rounded performance from the Chilean, a man whose departure seems more imminent with each day.

MID, Juan Bernat — B-

Bernat played out of his natural position, and at times it showed. His work rate, like Kimmich, was impressive, but two wide open misses and a few over-zealous attempts in the box that turned into turnovers did not really help his case as an option to replace Robben or Ribery in the future (under the assumption that Heynckes fielded him at attacking winger to see what he could do there).

MID, Thiago — A-

Thiago is back, and in full form. On the ball Thiago looks as impressive as ever, which is going to prove more than integral as Bayern attempt to capture the Treble this season. His finesse and control on the ball are second to none, and he shows that day in and day out.

MID, Thomas Muller — A+

Rarely would I give an A+ grade to a player, but Thomas Muller absolutely deserves it after his impressive match. Opening the game with a “goal” in extremely tight space (which ended up being an own goal against Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow) was impressive work in its own right. Later in the match, however, Muller would twice show some absolute world class skill. An errant pass that was seemingly headed out of bounds was saved by Muller, who immediately popped right up and launched an absolutely perfect ball into to box that found the head of Juan Bernat at the far post. The Spaniard missed the wide open goal by a mere few inches. Minutes later, Muller and Kimmich teamed up with a little trickery on a quickly played corner which led to one of the raumdeuter’s best goals in recent memory, and it still wasn’t even the best goal a Bayern player scored in the match.

MID, Corentin Tolliso — B+

Tolisso scored that goal, by far the most impressive scored by a Bayern player this season. The Frenchman also added great play in the midfield, being a constant threat with great passing.

FWD, Sandro Wagner — B+

Wagner’s presence was felt the whole match, his first real start for Bayern Munich. The gameplan was obvious from the early moments of the match, launch the ball into the box and attempt to find the head of the six foot four German giant. No ball ever connected with Wagner’s head, but in the second half Wagner did get a nice poacher’s goal to add to his tally with Bayern Munich. Three goals already through five matches played.

Next: Bayern Munich reportedly contact Freiburg coach Christian Streich

Subs

MID, Niklas Sule — N/A

Sule entered the match late in a midfield position strangely enough, but didn’t have enough time on the pitch to deserve a grade.

MID, Rafinha — N/A

Rafinha, another defensive player who entered the match as a midfield player, entered the match late, but provided a few showing in his few minutes on the pitch in an unnatural position.

MID,  Sebastian Rudy —  C+

Rudy entered the contest in the 74th minute for Thiago and continued along the lines of the Spaniard’s performance, playing well. Rudy has recently found himself out of favor, so the few minutes he did get today he did not squander as he vies for more playing time.