Thomas Muller and Joshua Kimmich starred as Bayern Munich registered a 3-1 victory over Greuther Furth on Friday.
Bayern Munich extended their winning run to eight games in all competitions, securing a 3-1 win over Greuther Furth on Friday night. The victory helps them remain on top of the Bundesliga table, regardless of the results of the weekend fixtures.
The Bavarians were surprisingly not as dominating as they were in the previous fixture against another newly-promoted outfit in VfL Bochum. Stefan Leitl’s men, after all, embraced a courageous high press in order to rattle their opposition during the early stages of the game.
The move backfired, though, with Bayern playing through the press and scoring two first-half goals through Thomas Mueller and Joshua Kimmich, heading into half-time with a comfortable 2-0 lead.
However, fortunes were flipped shortly after the restart when Benjamin Pavard was given a red card for a rash challenge, effectively reducing Bayern to ten men. While the Rekordmeister continued to dominate even with the numerical inferiority, Bochum did look more threatening going forward, though they couldn’t score until the 87th minute when Bayern had already scored their third.
Here, at The Hard Tackle, we will rate the Bayern Munich players in their comfortable victory over Greuther Furth this Friday.
23 – Julian Nagelsmann has seen his team score 23 goals in his first six Bundesliga games in charge of FC Bayern, a new record for a new coach at a club after six BL matches. Dreamstart. #SGFFCB pic.twitter.com/bpe4onekTM
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) September 24, 2021
Manuel Neuer: 7/10
Manuel Neuer had nothing to do for the most part as Greuther Furth struggled to put together any meaningful scoring opportunities until the final ten minutes of the game. He couldn’t have done anything to save Cedric Itten’s goal, but did make a fantastic double-save minutes earlier. Will be disappointed to have missed out on the clean sheet.
Niklas Sule: 7/10
Niklas Sule had a comfortable game on the right hand side of Bayern’s back-three. He strolled through the game, avoiding making any real defensive errors and looked sharp with his ball distribution.
Dayot Upamecano: 7/10
Dayot Upamecano was a rock at the back for Bayern Munich as the Frenchman expertly put an end to Havard Nielsen and Branimir Hrgota’s offensive endeavours on multiple occasions. Did get caught by a late cross, though, with the defender failing to properly mark Itten.
Lucas Hernandez: 7/10
Lucas Hernandez was solid as ever, on the left hand side of back three. He was solid in his tackles, but also showcased his offensive prowess by moving forward with the ball on multiple occasions. His return to full fitness has been a boon for the Bavarians.
Benjamin Pavard: 6/10
Benjamin Pavard was enjoying quite a comfortable evening until the poorly timed challenge that got him the red card two minutes into the second half. It would have sabotaged Bayern’s lead against a better team.
Julian Nagelsmann on Pavard's red card: "I hope it will only be two games. I think the sliding tackle wasn't absolutely necessary. I think we could have defended the situation better" pic.twitter.com/y6GjAiyrEz
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) September 24, 2021
Leon Goretzka: 7/10
Leon Goretzka showcased his aggression and tenacity in the middle of the park, not giving the opposition players even an inch to operate. Also moved forward, trying to influence the game while making him a shooting outlet from outside the box. A massive asset in the Bayern midfield.
Joshua Kimmich: 8/10
Joshua Kimmich produced another excellent display in midfield, orchestrating the game with his passing and ball distribution. However, what was particularly impressive was his goal in the first half, as the former Stuttgart starlet effortlessly found the back of the net with a precise shot on goal.
Kimmich qui s'inspire du crack toni kroos pic.twitter.com/g58DWTYGgP
— momzer (@_momzer) September 24, 2021
Alphonso Davies: 7.5/10
Alphonso Davies made his mark on the game with another explosive display on the left hand side. He made multiple marauding runs on the flanks to cause all kinds of problems for the Greuther Furth defence while his pace was a boon for Bayern when it came to recovering to a defensive position.
Thomas Muller: 8/10
Thomas Muller enjoyed an excellent evening in the final third, scoring the all-important opener inside the first ten minutes. Aside from the goal, the German international made intrinsic movements that kept the Furth defence occupied throughout the game. The veteran forward made way for Serge Gnabry during the final phase of the game.
Leroy Sane: 7/10
Leroy Sane wasn’t as influential as he was in the game against Bochum. However, his pace on the break coupled with his combination play with Davies on the left flank made life difficult for the opposition. The winger did get lucky to grab an assist for the Kimmich, which was more of a solo effort than anything else.
Robert Lewandowski: 6/10
Robert Lewandowski did not have the best of outings against Greuther Furth. The newly-promoted side defended the Pole diligently, preventing him from finding too many goalscoring opportunities. It led to a frustrating game for the striker, who could not continue his record of scoring in a record number of consecutive Bundesliga matches.
The last time Robert Lewandowski failed to score in a game for Bayern Munich was February 11, 2021.
His streak of scoring in 19 consecutive games for Bayern comes to an end. pic.twitter.com/IU2LLEdxMb
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 24, 2021
SUBSTITUTES
Marcel Sabitzer: 6/10
Marcel Sabitzer added more energy in midfield after replacing Sane around the mark. Not enough to make any impact on the proceedings, though few can blame him given the circumstances.
Serge Gnabry: 6/10-
Serge Gnabry offered some late dashes into the final third after coming on for Muller in the 75th minute.
Jamal Musiala: N/A
A late replacement for Goretzka. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Josip Stanisic: N/A
A late replacement for Sule. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
