On Matchday 9 of the Bundesliga, FC Bayern won 2-1 at Mainz 05, heading into the international break on a high note. Here are the FCBinside player ratings for the Bayern stars.
Manuel Neuer: Didn’t have much to do for a long time. Then, on what looked like a 1–1 equalizer following a free kick by Amiri, he fumbled the ball, allowing Lee to head it in. The Bayern goalkeeper looked bad on that play. However, VAR disallowed the goal due to Lee being offside. After the play, Neuer was substituted due to injury. Grade: 4.
Konrad Laimer: Listed as the right back on the lineup sheet, but could be found all over the field. Laimer sprinted, fought hard, and was dangerous on offense. The Austrian set up Karl’s 2–0 goal with his pass to Kane. Another strong performance! Grade: 2.
Dayot Upamecano: Played with a clear overview at the back, was strong in one-on-one situations, and also ventured forward on several occasions. He had a header that Mainz goalkeeper Zentner was able to save. In the closing stages, Upamecano headed the ball off the crossbar. Alongside Laimer, Upamecano was the second defensive standout who shone for Bayern in Mainz. Grade: 2.
Jonathan Tah: Played solidly at the back and didn’t make any mistakes. In stoppage time, however, he lost a header duel to Tietz on Mainz’s 1–2 goal. Still, grade: 3.
Josip Stanisic: Started again at left back. Had a scoring opportunity shortly before halftime but shot wide from a full run. Made one errant pass but otherwise played rock-solid defense. Grade: 3.
Joshua Kimmich: Scored the 1-0 goal for Bayern with a well-placed shot into the top corner off a pass from Kane. A great goal! A lot of Bayern’s midfield play went through Kimmich. The national team captain was aggressive and organized Munich’s play. Grade: 2.
Aleksandar Pavlovic: Calm on the ball and good at building up play. Pavlovic returned from injury and immediately delivered another solid performance. Grade: 3.
Michael Olise: Had plenty of touches and repeatedly showcased his spectacular technique when controlling the ball. The Frenchman even got off a shot at one point—but the ball sailed well over the goal. Overall, Olise was very committed, but didn’t have much to show for it in the end. Grade: 3.
Lennart Karl: Set up Kane with a fine through ball, but Kane was denied by Zentner. In the second half, Karl first missed a chance, then the youngster scored off an assist from Kane to make it 2–0 for FCB. This time, Karl celebrated with down-to-earth humility. The Madrid hero’s form continues to clearly improve. Grade: 2.
Nathaniel Brown: Started on the left wing. He tried a volley once, but Mainz goalkeeper Zentner made the save. Otherwise, Brown didn’t make much of an impact there, though he tried hard. In the final half-hour, he moved to the number 10 position. The national team player had one more chance but sent the ball wide of the post. Grade: 3.
Harry Kane: Recorded the assist on Kimmich’s 1-0 goal. Kane tried a long-range shot in the first half, but it sailed well over the goal. The Englishman was then set up by Karl but was denied by Zentner. Kane also set up Karl’s 2-0 goal. The Ballon d’Or winner often dropped back into midfield and played several precise passes from there. Good game. Grade: 2.
Substitutes:
Jonas Urbig (44’ for Neuer): Didn’t have much to do after coming on. He was powerless to stop Tietz’s well-placed header that made it 1–2 in stoppage time. Grade: 3.
Tom Bischof (67′ for Karl): Took over the left-back position. Played out the rest of the match confidently there. Grade: 3.
Alphonso Davies (67′ for Stanisic): Played on the left attacking wing after coming on as a substitute. Davies ran a lot and fast, but didn’t create any dangerous chances at first. In the end, he had one more shot on goal, but it was blocked. Grade: 3.
Sacha Boey (86′ for Kimmich): Came on too late to be evaluated.
Hiroki Ito (86′ for Laimer): Came on too late to be rated.
Here you can give the Bayern stars your own ratings for the match against Mainz 05:
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 represents a very good performance, while a 6 represents an unsatisfactory performance—just like on a school report card.