BFW postseason player ratings: Bayern Munich’s attackers

Bayern Munich scored 99 goals in the league this season, so you can be sure that the attack was on-point for much of the year. Unfortunately, there were still some lows mixed in with the highs, which is reflected in the performances of some individual players. Let’s take a look.

Wingers

Serge Gnabry

Minutes played: 2,376
Goals: 11
Assists: 7
Rating: C+

Serge Gnabry never managed to get going this season, mainly due to coronavirus and multiple injuries. He was clearly getting his mojo back near the end, which is reflected in his numbers — but it was overall a disappointing season for the 25-year-old. He could have made a real difference had he been available vs. PSG.

Leroy Sane

Minutes played: 2,617
Goals: 10
Assists: 12
Rating: B-

Sane gets a decent rating on account of his overall numbers at the end of the campaign. The former Manchester City man was expected to revolutionize Bayern’s attack, but the entire season has been a learning experience for him. Flick eventually managed to teach him how to defend, but it’s come at the cost of his confidence in front of goal. Or, rather than implying some kind of misplaced correlation, Sane’s confidence has taken a hammering in his debut season at Bayern.

For someone of his caliber (and wages) he needs to do much better next year. Hopefully Nagelsmann can help him out of his funk.

Kingsley Coman

Minutes played: 2,518
Goals: 8
Assists: 15
Rating: B

Coman pulls just ahead of Sane in the ratings because of a more consistent early season as well as slightly better numbers overall. The Frenchman has improved significantly since his Champions League-winning goal in Lisbon, with better decision making and finishing across the board. Unfortunately, old habits still linger, and they arise at the most inopportune of moments. The PSG tie will have no doubt soured some people on Coman, but this was still his best season at Bayern so far.

Douglas Costa

Minutes played: 653
Goals: 1
Assists: 3
Rating: J

Costa did nothing except collect a paycheck and tag along during medal celebrations. His rating is a J, which represents the joke of a loan he ended up being. Good help is hard to find.

Photo by M. Donato/Getty Images for FC Bayern

Attacking midfielders

Jamal Musiala

Minutes played: 1,448
Goals: 7
Assists: 1
Rating: B+

I was torn about Musiala’s rating but eventually settled on a B+, which is probably a little low in some people’s eyes. The youngster has been a revelation this year, playing on par or better than some of his senior team colleagues, and coming up with clutch goals in games against the likes of Leipzig and Lazio. While still lacking in physicality, Musiala more than makes up for it in game intelligence and technical skill. Only his physique gives away the fact that he just barely turned 18 this year.

It’s been a very long time since Bayern had such a bright attacking prospect at the club. It’s a good thing we tied him down to a long term contract, because he looks like the real deal.

Thomas Muller

Minutes played: 3,760
Goals: 15
Assists: 24
Rating: A+

Hansi Flick’s commander-in-chief and the lynchpin of Bayern’s entire system — there’s very little to be said about Thomas Muller that hasn’t been said already. While he didn’t break his assist record from last season, numbers-wise this was the best year he’s ever had.

Strikers

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting

Minutes played: 1,313
Goals: 9
Assists: 1
Rating: B+

While I was skeptical at first, Choupo-Moting has won me over with consistent performances and proven that he has what it takes to be a striker at Bayern Munich. Being the backup to the best in the world isn’t easy, but the former PSG man has taken things in his stride. He managed to score twice against his former employers in the Champions League this year, and you can hardly blame him for Bayern’s eventual elimination. He was probably one of the few good signings the club made last summer.

Robert Lewandowski

Minutes played: 3,379
Goals: 48
Assists: 9
Rating: S+

It’s hard to express how good Robert Lewandowski is. What we saw this season was a legend in action — the kind of player who gets talked about decades from now. Lewy was at such a high level this season that he was practically a cheat code for Bayern. When he starts, you can just assume that you’re 1-0 up already. Breaking Gerd Muller’s record was just the icing on the cake — had it not been for injuries, he would’ve blasted that record to smithereens.

Imagine if the Polish national team hadn’t played him against mighty Andorra. Oh, what could’ve been. That one injury could’ve cost Bayern a repeat UCL title.

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Overall offensive rating: A+

Attacking football doesn’t really get much better than this. Hansi Flick really knows his stuff. Now, the question is — can Julian Nagelsmann replicate that success?