Manuel Neuer
Rating: 9/10
It was a man of the match performance from Bayern’s captain. Given the dominant display from Bayern in the first half, Manuel Neuer was hardly tested by Leipzig during this half. He appeared as an outfield player in the first 45 minutes as he helped Bayern in keeping a high line with his “sweeper-keeper” abilities.
Although Neuer failed to stop Emil Forsberg spot-kick despite his correct judgement. He turned out to be the show stopper for Bayern in the second half. The German international made two crucial saves, denying Timo Werner and Nordi Mukiele from an acute angle from the right side besides stopping a long-range effort from Marcel Sabitzer.
He left no doubt on why he is still Germany’s number one goalkeeper.
Benjamin Pavard
Rating: 8/10
The 2018 World Cup winner seemed to have cemented his place on the right-hand side of the defense. Benjamin Pavard was a menace throughout the game. What seemed to be a non-erroneous performance, Pavard constantly contributed in the final third without sacrificing his defensive duties.
He swung in four crosses and had the highest touches in the match, 121 to be precise. Pavard also denied Marcel Halstenberg a clear goal-scoring chance in the 49th minute with a sliding tackle when a counter-attack from Leipzig left Bayern open on their right side. (Stats courtesy: Bundesliga.com)
Procured from Stuttgart in the summer, Pavard worked tirelessly throughout the 90 minutes.
Niklas Sule
Rating: 8/10
Bayern’s number four was another key figure in this match. Sule took three attempts on goal and nearly found the net in the last minute of the second half. His towering header from the far post was saved by Peter Gulacsi’s fingers to deny Bayern three points.
Alongside being a goal threat from set-pieces, Sule was excellent in defense. He was always quick to clear the danger in the box. Thanks to his stature coupled with his swift movement, Sule was always the first to rise high and defend a cross.
The center-back played an important role in creating an attack moving by smoothly playing the ball out from the back. He was mostly the first point of contact in defense for building the attack. Overall, it was a treat to watch Sule as he completed 91 passes during the match.
Jerome Boateng
Rating: 7/10
The veteran made his first league appearance for Bayern this season, partnering Sule in the heart of the defense. Although he is not preferred by Kovac for a starting XI berth, Boateng looked sharp in the first half.
While Boateng made neat interceptions for the bulk of the game, he was booked for a careless tackle on Werner after the first 15 minutes in the second half. His intelligence to find a player through a long-ball in the attacking third on a regular basis was the highlight of his performance.
It was a fine performance from Boateng albeit not a promising one to cement his place in the back-line.
Lucas Hernandez
Rating: 6/10
The Frenchman who started on the left-back due to David Alaba’s absence was inconsistent with his performance.
Lucas Hernandez helped Bayern in keeping adequate width to cancel out Lukas Klostermann’s threat in the wide areas. Moreover, he was constantly involved in checking Sabitzer’s movement and kept him at bay comfortably for the first 35 minutes.
The 23-year old looked certain to have won a penalty for Bayern only to be rebuffed by VAR. Tides turned when, ten minutes later, Leipzig was awarded a penalty as Hernandez clipped Yussuf Poulsen inside his box.
Although a familiar role on the left flank for Hernandez, Bayern’s record-signing struggled to win his duels during the second half. Julian Nagelsmann’s decision to replace Klostermann with Diego Demme caused more problems to Hernandez with Mukiele given the license to make overlapping runs on the right side. Hernandez couldn’t repeat the heroic feat shown in the previous two Bundesliga games.