Winner of the game, grades and individual criticism from the FCB pros

After a tough initial phase, it was Thomas Müller who paved the way to victory. With two more goals, coach Julian Nagelsmann had all the time to spare players for Paris. Here are the grades and individual reviews of the Bayern pros for the Bundesliga duel with VfL Bochum.

Winner: Thomas Muller

Thomas Müller seemed to be dispensable for FC Bayern this season. Musiala performs well, as does Choupo-Moting. But in the past few weeks, a great opportunity has opened up for the 2014 world champion. While Musiala is carrying around a few form dents, Choupo-Moting fell ill. And so Müller is back. Above all, his form is apparently back. Against Bochum he was by far Bayern’s best offensive player. Almost every attack went through him, against the ball the pressing seemed much more grippy thanks to his clear instructions. His goal to make it 1-0, which is typical for him, only underpins all of this. It was already going down at half-time, but a starting line-up without him is hardly conceivable in Paris. Grade: 2.

Winner: Kingsley Coman

Almost identical to Müller, the situation for Coman in winter was not easy either. It seemed as if Sané and Gnabry had become a duo. Both, but especially the latter, are currently missing the big highlights. Coman also managed to get stuck again. This time he only came off the bench against Bochum, which should mean that he will start in Paris. His performance on the right wing was once again remarkable. Not only with his goal, but also in many other attacks. With Coman fire came into the offensive of FC Bayern. Grade: 2.

Loser: Saidy Janko

Played the catastrophic bad pass that invited Müller to take the lead and did not perform well beyond that. Lost many duels and was noticeably overwhelmed with the Munich pace. So also in the 73rd minute, when he couldn’t keep up with Gnabry and caused a penalty. grade: 5

FC Bayern Munich vs. VfL Bochum: The line-ups

FC Bayern Munich: goalkeeper

Yan Summers: Saved once just after the break but was otherwise not in action. His development game was safe as usual, there is nothing more to report about summer. Grade: 3.5.

FC Bayern Munich: Defense

Benjamin Pavard: Solid performance by the Frenchman, who helped protect the team, which was very offensive overall, on the right flank. Stable against the ball, at least sovereign with the ball. Note 3.

Dayot Upamecano: Here and there with strong tackles, however, uncertainties flash through with him again and again. Bochum couldn’t punish them, but Paris will probably do it. Still, not a bad performance by the Frenchman, who cleverly got involved in opening the game. Note 3.

Matthijs de Ligt: Currently the most form defender in Bayern. Wins a lot of duels, makes good decisions with the ball and thus stabilizes Bayern’s game in all directions. The really big highlights were missing from his game – but that was also due to the fact that he was rarely really challenged. Grade: 2.5.

João Cancelo: Chain of four or chain of three? It was hard to tell apart against VfL and that was mainly due to the very offensive Cancelo. The Portuguese played like a winger in the first half. Made amends, but wasn’t as convincing as in his first few games. Maybe that’s why we went back to the right side in the second round – then very clearly with a three-man chain. He was substituted after an hour. Note 3.

FC Bayern Munich: Midfield

Leon Goretzka: Missed a huge chance to make it 2-0 just before half-time, but otherwise only rarely appeared offensively. That, in turn, was rather conducive to his performance. His game became less spacious and therefore more focused. In the absence of Kimmich, this led to a stronger presence of the Bochum native. Grade: 2.5.

Jamal Musiala: Nominally positioned lower in midfield, but still involved in many offensive actions with the ball. This was also the case with his first shot, which he didn’t get in the box with enough pressure (5th). Sometimes with too much risk in the build-up. There was no big spectacle this time, but it is remarkable how confident his game is at this age. Note 3.

Serge Gnabry: Slipped on the ball while moving forward in the 19th minute. That pretty much describes his performance in the early stages. However, he worked his way into the game and even if not everything worked out, he earned his goal from the point in the 73rd minute. Not only because he got it out himself with strong dribbling, but also converted it safely. Note 3.

Leroy Sane: Currently not the offensive player who is in the foreground of the record champions. In any case, one that is currently performing very consistently. His careless mistakes have become rarer and if he does make them, he works intensively on them. In addition, the winger has been involved in many combinations and always caused danger with his constant runs. Grade: 2.5.

Bayern Munich: Attack

Thomas Müller: Extremely active, loud as usual and always had his foot in the game when things got dangerous up front. His high running workload was rewarded after a good 41 minutes when he put Bochum’s play structure under pressure in a full sprint and a back pass to goalkeeper Riemann fell short. Müller didn’t let his nose down and he scored the important 1-0. Grade: 2.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting: Also very active, but less fortunate than Müller. For example, when his header from close range in the first half only went to the side netting. Nevertheless very important for the combination game and a fixed point in front. Grade: 2.5.

FC Bayern Munich: Substitute

Alphonso Davies: Came to the break for Müller. Had a good scene right away, but fell more and more as the half progressed. His place for the Paris game could be shaky. Grade: 3.5.

Kingsley Coman: He replaced Cancelo in the 60th minute and it wasn’t long before he continued his run: with a bit of luck, the Frenchman scored to make it 2-0 (64th). Even after that, a constant asset with a lot of movement towards goal. Grade: 2.

Daley Blind: Was allowed to come on for Musiala after 67 minutes and took over his position in midfield. The Dutchman acted inconspicuously but confidently. Grade: 3.5.

Mathy’s phone: Choupo-Moting made way for the young Frenchman (67th), who, however, had more conspicuous appearances. The game passed him by a bit. Grade: 3.5.

Arijon Ibrahimovic: Substituted for Sané in the 77th minute and made his first move shortly after, putting Coman in the lead well. No rating.