FC Bayern wins the opening game of the new Bundesliga season against VfB Stuttgart 5–1. Individual player ratings for the Bayern stars in FCBinside.
Manuel Neuer: Made a good save on Chabot’s header before the goal that tied the score at 1–1, but Neuer could do nothing about Vagnoman’s follow-up shot. Otherwise, Neuer wasn’t really tested. Grade: 3.
Konrad Laimer: Made a dangerous run forward shortly before halftime, but Bredlow in the VfB goal was able to stop the Austrian’s shot. After that, Laimer had a solid game without any further major highlights. Grade: 3.
Dayot Upamecano: Headed in the 1-0 goal for Bayern off a corner kick by Kimmich. Defensively, Upamecano was rock-solid. Especially in the air, the Stuttgart attackers didn’t stand a chance against the Frenchman. Good game! Grade: 2.
Minjae Kim: Surprisingly started in place of Tah. Kim played with great focus, intercepted several passes, and won his one-on-one duels. The South Korean put in a convincing performance—he remains a contender for the starting lineup. Grade: 2.
Alphonso Davies: Was very active on the left side of defense and repeatedly joined the attack with dynamism. Following Davies’ cross, Vagnoman scored an own goal in slapstick fashion, making it 3–1 for Bayern. Overall, it’s worth noting: Finally, another strong performance from Davies! Grade: 2.
Joshua Kimmich: Set up Bayern’s first goal of the season, scored by Upamecano, with his corner kick. Kimmich also set up Olise’s 2–1 goal—with a very fine pass into space. Kimmich did a lot for Bayern’s play—strong! Grade: 2.
Aleksandar Pavlovic: Played a key role in Bayern’s build-up play. He took one dangerous shot from the penalty area, but Bredlow made the save. He made a good run on the counterattack leading up to the 4-1 goal, where he simply had to tap it in after a pass from Saibari. Grade: 2.
Michael Olise: Hit the crossbar with a free kick early on. Shortly before the halftime whistle, Olise was denied by Bredlow with an acrobatic shot following a sharp cross from Davies. For his goal to make it 2–1, the Frenchman outran the entire Stuttgart defense and coolly slotted the ball home after a dream pass from Kimmich. Olise then scored again, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review due to a narrow offside call. Olise then set up Pavlovic’s 4–1 goal with a superb pass to Saibari. Great performance! Grade: A.
Nathaniel Brown: As in the Super Cup, he replaced Musiala at the “10” position. The new signing tried hard in the unfamiliar role but didn’t produce any standout moments. Only once in the first half did Brown suddenly appear in front of the Stuttgart goal after a pass from Davies—but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Bredlow. Overall, it was still a solid game from the 23-year-old. Grade: 3.
Luis Diaz: Failed to score when one-on-one with VfB keeper Bredlow. In the second half, Diaz took another dangerous shot. His deflected shot went just wide. He tried again with a chip, but it went over the bar. In the end, Diaz’s hard work paid off: After a beautiful pass from Saibari, the Colombian tapped the ball in to make the final score 5–1. Grade: 2.
Harry Kane: Didn’t stand out much. He delivered one dream pass to Olise, who scored—but the goal was disallowed due to a narrow offside call. Kane often dropped deep and worked hard for the team. Grade: 3.
Substitutes:
Ismael Saibari (61’ for Brown): Showed several good offensive moves after coming on as a substitute. Had one chance but shot over the goal. Saibari then set up Pavlovic’s goal for Bayern’s 4–1 lead with great vision and physicality. He then played a dream pass to Diaz before the 5–1 goal. A strong Bundesliga debut for the new signing. Grade: 2.
Josip Stanisic (74′ for Davies): Secured the back line after coming on as a substitute but didn’t make any further impact offensively. Grade: 3.
Tom Bischof (84′ for Pavlovic): Came on too late to be evaluated.
Jonathan Tah (84th min. for Kim): Came on too late to be evaluated.
Lennart Karl (84′ for Kane): Came on too late to be rated.
Here you can give the Bayern stars your own ratings for the match against VfB Stuttgart:
Here’s how the player rating tool works on FCBinside: After every FC Bayern game, fans can rate every player who appeared in the match and played at least 15 minutes. The grading scale ranges from 1 to 6. A 1 stands for a very good performance, while a 6 stands for an unsatisfactory performance—just like on a school report card.