FC Bayern Munich dropped to third place in the Bundesliga table as they were forced to settle for a draw against RB Leipzig in matchday four.
Niko Kovac opted to give Jerome Boateng his first start of the Bundesliga campaign, replacing an injured David Alaba in the lineup. Serge Gnabry made his way back into the team alongside Thomas Muller, who took the number ten position with Philippe Coutinho on the bench. The Bavarians were rostered in a 4-3-3 formation. On the opposite side, the hosts shaped up in an attacking 3-5-2.
Kovac’s side reflected the great character in an exciting clash against the Red Bulls. Bayern started the game with cruise control as the reigning champions remained in command for the majority of the first 45 minutes.
Whilst Bayern kept knocking on Leipzig’s door with a dominant display, they were reverted with an equivalent momentum when Julian Naglesmann decided to put his team in a constant pressing mode in the second half.
There were multiple occasions when Bayern came close to scoring a winner but failed to give the final touch to some promising moves. With new faces having joined this summer and Kovac still looking for his concrete starting XI, Die Roten were solid as a unit in each phase of the game.
Bayern’s head coach seemed content after the match with a lot of positives taken from his team’s display. Kovac considered this to be Bayern’s best staging so far.
"“We played sensationally in the first half, it was our best performance so far. We didn’t allow them anything but should have made more of our dominance. We made life difficult for ourselves after that. “We shouldn’t have conceded the penalty after losing the ball. Leipzig changed their formation at half-time, we should have been more compact in midfield. It was an open contest then.” “At the end of the day the result is annoying. We had more chances, we played well but unfortunately squandered two points. We’re looking at the bright side of the game: we turned in a really good display.”"
Considering the significance of this game and the vital moments observed from the match, we rate the performance for every Bayern player.
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.
Joshua Kimmich
Rating: 8/10
It was another brilliant performance from Joshua Kimmich who, once again, exemplified the number six role.
Kimmich was constantly seen moving around the pitch as he orchestrated the transition for Bayern. He was excellent on the ball, creating link-ups from defense to attack. Although he sat deep to provide Thiago an opportunity to surge forward in attack, Kimmich managed to covered 13.11 kilometers on the pitch. (Stats courtesy: Bundesliga.com)
In his defensive role, Kimmich persistently blocked the passing channels for Leipzig through the middle of the park. It was his positional acumen that kept Bayern compact through in the central areas. It was another classic performance from Joshua Kimmich.
More from Bayern Strikes
- Bayern Munich: Tactical takeaways from 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman set to be fit for Manchester United clash
- Bayern Munich unlikely to move for Trevoh Chalobah in January
- Bayern Munich: Key lessons from draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich remains keen on hiring Max Eberl
Thiago Alcantara
Rating: 7/10
He was given the permit to play as a number eight. Thiago operated as a box-to-box player for Bayern.
While his passing remained tidy, he was dispossessed easily on a few occasions. The Spanish maestro linked well with the defense and attack. His understanding with Kimmich was excellent.
He hardly posed a threat in the attacking third and was seemingly contained by the opposition. His vision and sublime one-touch passes remain incomparable though. This marked an average display for Thiago.
Thomas Muller
Rating: 6/10
Niko Kovac opted to use Muller in the number ten role instead of Coutinho’s for this match. Muller’s performance would have been below par had it not been for his assist for Robert Lewandowski’s goal in first half. It counts as the only key contribution from Thomas Muller who was sturdy enough to win the ball from Klostermann and release Lewandowski for Bayern’s goal.
The German did make decent runs during the attacking phase but never tested the goalkeeper. As an attacker playing in the hole, it was expected from Muller to take a few shots at the goal.
Serge Gnabry
Rating: 6/10
The German forward who shone during the international break last week was not quite up to the mark against RB Leipzig.
Though Gnabry wasn’t at his best in the attacking third, he used his pace and physicality to regain possession quickly during the first half.
Given a free-roaming role compared to his counterpart on the opposite wing, Gnabry was easily dealt with by a solid Leipzig defense. He managed to take only two shots and failed to register a single cross in the game. He was finally replaced by Alphonso Davies around the hour mark. It was a mediocre performance from Bayern’s 2018/19 Player of the Season.
Kingsley Coman
Rating: 8/10
Kingsley Coman was the only threat for Leipzig in the attacking third. The French winger was excellent with his dribbling and managed to win 21 duels during the match.
Coman caused havoc in Leipzig’s defense as he kept Willi Orban and Ibrahima Konate in his pocket. He was quick and skillful to run down the right flank and managed to put six crosses in the box. That amounts to almost 50% of Bayern’s total crosses in the match. (Stats Courtesy: Bundesliga.com)
The only negative for him was his finishing ability and lack of attempts on goal. He managed just two shots during 90 minutes. He did come close to finding the back of the net when his deflected shot following a Robben-like inversion from the right side struck the post after Gulacsi’s finger-touch save.
Robert Lewandowski
Rating: 7/10
The Polish looked vibrant right from the onset. It was just three minutes into the game when Lewandowski made a run in behind a static Leipzig defense, meeting Muller’s through-ball and calmly slotting it home.
Apart from his goal, Lewandowski forced two saves from Gulacsi. He managed to fire five shots of the total 14 shots attempted by Bayern as he missed a couple of other chances to get his name on the scoresheet for a second time. ( Stats courtesy-Bundesliga.com)
There was a blip in Lewandowski’s performance as the striker was foolish to pick a yellow for throwing his arm into Halstenberg’s face, early in the first half. He currently seems to be the only direct threat at goal for FC Bayern.
Alphonso Davies
Rating: 5/10
The Canadian replaced Gnabry with 30 minutes left to play. He hardly made an impact and didn’t fulfill the intended purpose for which he replaced Gnabry.
His fresh legs did seem to lighten up the game for the first ten minutes after his introduction on the pitch. However, he could not manage to create a real goal scoring chance and was dealt with ease by the Leipzig defense. The teenager still needs a lot of time to find his feet in European football.
Corentin Tolisso
Rating: 6/10
The French midfielder made an instant impact following his arrival on the pitch. He managed to force a save from Gulacsi at the 64th minute as Tolisso took a shot right from the edge of the box following a pass from Davies.
Beside his attempt at the goal, Tolisso was neat with his passing and movement. Based on the time he spent on the pitch, it was a satisfactory display from Tolisso.
Coutinho hardly had any time to make an impact as he was the last man who was brought on for Thiago with just two minutes left on the clock.
Next up, Bayern face Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday in their first European encounter of the season.