On Matchday 2 of the Bundesliga, FC Bayern could not manage more than a 0-0 draw against FC Schalke 04. Here are the FC Bayern stars in the FCBinside individual player ratings.
Manuel Neuer: Didn’t have much to do on his return to Gelsenkirchen. He only had to make one serious save in the first half—on a free kick by Aouchiche—and punched the ball safely to the side. Otherwise, Neuer was hardly tested by Schalke, but remained alert throughout the match. Grade: 3.
Konrad Laimer: Worked hard and was diligent as usual. Allowed few opportunities defensively on his right side and repeatedly joined the attack. Had a good chance to put Bayern ahead after the break but couldn’t capitalize on it. Overall solid, but without many highlights. Grade: 3.
Jonathan Tah: Cleared up a lot in Bayern’s defense and was extremely strong in one-on-one duels. He held his ground against Sylla right from the start and also prevented the Schalke forward from getting past him on a dangerous run just before halftime. He also contributed to the build-up play with some good passes. A very solid performance. Grade: 2.
Dayot Upamecano: Very physical and strong in one-on-one situations. Made several powerful runs well past the halfway line and used his speed to cut off several Schalke counterattacks. However, he made a mistake against Sylla and was then forced to stop the striker with a foul—for which Upamecano received a yellow card. Later, he made a strong clearance against El-Faouzi following a misplaced pass by Kimmich. Overall, a good performance. Grade: 2.
Alphonso Davies: Had a solid game on the left side and was very alert. He didn’t shy away from any tackles, even in the heated atmosphere, and used his speed to thwart several of Schalke’s transition attempts. He repeatedly pushed forward himself and set up Diaz’s big chance after the break with a good through ball. Grade: 3.
Joshua Kimmich: Worked hard and repeatedly tried to organize Bayern’s play. Played several smart passes and frequently looked to find the space behind the Schalke defense with his signature chip passes. However, he also made one errant pass during build-up play, which allowed Schalke to launch a dangerous counterattack. Still: A good game. Grade: 2.
Aleksandar Pavlovic: Was unable to bring the necessary structure to Bayern’s play this time and found solutions too rarely against Schalke’s compact defense. Pavlovic had his best moment before Brown’s big chance, when he made a strong run behind the Schalke defense and laid the ball back with composure. He worked hard but couldn’t make his mark on the game. He received a yellow card for a tactical foul and was subsequently substituted. Grade: 4.
Lennart Karl: Took Bayern’s first shot early on, but his long-range attempt was too central. After that, Karl had few touches, gave the ball away a few times, and posed little threat. After his injury layoff, the youngster was still lacking rhythm. Shortly after halftime, he was set up by Kimmich but got bogged down against several Schalke players. Grade: 4.
Nathaniel Brown: Looked quite lost in the number 10 position for long stretches and was rarely able to make an impact. He did, however, have Bayern’s first big chance after 13 minutes but was denied from close range by a quick-reacting Karius. Later, he played a fine through ball to Diaz, who missed with only the Schalke goal to beat. Overall, though, Brown contributed too little; he was substituted at halftime. Grade: 4.
Luis Diaz: Made many poor decisions and squandered several big chances. Shortly before halftime, Diaz found himself alone in front of Karius after a strong pass from Brown, but failed to connect properly with the ball. After the break, he was through on goal again following a through ball from Davies but aimed his chip shot too imprecisely. The Colombian remained unlucky even after that. Overall, it was a poor performance! Grade: 5.
Ismael Saibari: Started as a center forward in place of Kane but made hardly any impact in that role. Saibari sent a shot wide of the goal after turning. Although he worked hard and gave it his all in tackles, he posed little threat. After Kane came on as a substitute, he moved behind the Englishman into the number 10 position—and was unable to make an impact there either. Grade: 4.
Substitutes:
Harry Kane (46’ for Brown): Surprisingly started on the bench and came on at halftime. His teammates barely involved him for a long time, and he never really got into the game. Shortly before the end, he finally had a great chance to win the game: Karius tipped his powerful long-range shot over the crossbar with a spectacular save. Grade: 4.
Michael Olise (57’ for Saibari): Immediately brought a lot of energy after coming on and injected significantly more creativity into Bayern’s play. Most of the dangerous attacks came through him from that point on. Shortly after coming on, he was denied by a strong save from Karius from a tight angle and later left three Schalke players in his wake. However, he also got caught out several times, and not every cross found its mark. Nevertheless, Olise significantly revitalized the offense. Grade: 2.
Jamal Musiala (57th minute, for Karl): Returned after his health issues and was immediately in the thick of things. He challenged for the ball and was involved in several Bayern attacks. However, Musiala rarely managed to make a decisive breakthrough with his dribbles and was not yet the decisive factor in the offensive play again. Overall, a solid comeback. Grade: 3.
Tom Bischof (74′ for Pavlovic): Came on in central midfield for the booked Pavlovic and was meant to give Bayern’s play a fresh boost in the closing stages. He finished the match solidly but was unable to make any decisive impact. Grade: 3.
Here you can give the Bayern stars your own ratings for the match against Schalke 04:
Here’s how the player rating tool works on FCBinside: After every FC Bayern game, fans can rate any 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.