Bayern Munich defeat relegation bound Koln -- Player grades

Bayern Munich add insult to injury, beating relegation bound Koln 3-1 in front of their home crowd in the last away game of their season.

Manager grade

Jupp Heynckes — A

Bayern Munich grabbed a convincing win in Jupp Heynckes’ last ever Bundesliga away match as a coach. He found a good balance between playing his stars (who no doubt needed to shake off the disappointment of their midweek loss to Real Madrid) and giving some minutes to younger and fringe players.

Player grades

GK, Sven Ulreich — B

There was absolutely nothing Sven Ulreich could do to keep out Niklas Sule’s expertly placed own goal. He did well to save the few shots that actually tested him and was quick off his line to keep out other Koln attacks.

DEF, Rafinha — B

A solid, if not specatular, game from Bayern’s back-up full-back, who won each of his duels. Rafinha’s best moment was his low cross that found Thomas Muller who then set up Robert Lewandowski for Bayern’s second. On top of his attacking threat, Rafinha did his defensive duties well enough.

DEF, Mats Hummels — B+

Calm and collected at the back, Bayern’s most often used center-back was typically excellent against Koln. The German ensured Sven Ulreich enjoyed a relaxed evening in goal, making several big tackles — including one last ditch effort — and important interceptions.

DEF, Niklas Sule — C+

Other than his unfortunate own goal, Niklas Sule played a pretty good game. He wasn’t quite as impressive as he was in both legs against Real Madrid (he looked a step behind on a few occasions), but he wasn’t bad either.

DEF, Joshua Kimmich — B

Second only to James Rodriguez for touches in the match, it was a typical game from Joshua Kimmich. His crossing was a bit off, but he never let that stop him from joining the attack.

MID, Javi Martinez — C+

Javi Martinez was another player who had a pretty quiet match. The Spaniard sat in the hole between defense and midfield, Javi Martinez had the second least amount of touches of the Bayern players who played the whole match (72 for Javi, only Rafinha had fewer with 66).

MID, Sebastian Rudy — B

After enduring a significant mid-season dip in form, Sebastian Rudy looks to be on his way back up, and today was no different. Although he wasn’t quite as impressive as his midfield partner James Rodriguez, Rudy definitely played his part in helping the Bavarians lock down the midfield.

MID, James Rodriguez — A

The Colombian superstar was excellent in midfield, grabbing both a goal and assist, and recycling passes across the pitch throughout. James was perhaps lucky to escape giving away a late penalty, but it was nevertheless a superb game from Bayern’s midfield playmaker.

FWD, Franck Evina — C+

Having only made his Bayern debut last weekend, Evina was once again called up to the first team for the match against Koln. He was relatively quiet, not as impressive as he was last weekend against Frankfurt. However, the promising signs are still there.

FWD, Robert Lewandowski — B-

Seven shots, four on target, three off target. Despite his goal, Lewandowski seemed to still be in a sort of slump after his poor performances against Real Madrid. He was removed from play after scoring his 29th goal of the season, and sulked his way off the pitch without shaking his manager’s hand.

FWD, Thomas Muller — A-

Thomas Muller played the role of creator today, toiling industriously on the right flank. His hard work and smart thinking earned him two assists, carrying his tally to 14 for the season, a career high for the Bavarian.

Next: Bayern Munich linked with big money move for Paulo Dybala

Subs

MID, Thiago — B-

The Spaniard replaced Franck Evina at half-time and immediately made more of an impact than his young teammate. Though he didn’t grab an assist, Thiago was instrumental in many of Bayern’s most threatening attacks.

MID, Corentin Tolisso — B

Coco joined the match fairly late, but he didn’t let that stop him from making a difference. His excellent positioning left him wide open to get on the end of a James Rodriguez cross, which he coolly headed into the bottom corner.

FWD, Sandro Wagner — N/A

Having joined the match with only 14 minutes remaining, Sandro Wagner gets no grade.

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Bayern Munich defeat relegation bound Koln — Player grades

By Benjamin Scott | May 5, 2018