Pundits weigh in on Bayern Munich’s winners and losers from the preseason under Julian Nagelsmann

Bayern Munich’s preseason was marked more by who was not there, than by who was in attendance.

Still, the absence of so many key veterans opened the doors for several players to prove themselves. While some faltered, others rose to the occasion. Here is how one major publication broke down the winners and losers:

Abendzeitung

Abendzeitung broke down the winners by tier:

• Gold: Dayot Upamecano
• Silver: Tanguy Nianzou
• Bronze: Armindo Sieb, Torben Rhein, Josip Stanisic

Those players listed above were the obvious winners, but the losers were listed as...well, see for yourself:

• Blech: Joshua Zirkzee (since loaned to RSC Anderlecht), Chris Richards, and Michael Cuisance. Abendzeitung also had all of the injured players listed in the “Blech” category, but that seemed odd given they couldn’t compete.

BFW Analysis

Abendzeitung seemed to hit the nail on the head for some of their selections. Upamecano was good (not great) in games — same for Nianzou. I did not come away blown away by their respective performances, but definitely thought they handled themselves well and were winners.

As for Sieb, Stanisic, and Rhein — the trio of youngsters seemed to really excel for the most part. Again, I never felt blown away, but they were all very, very solid.

As for the “Blech”, I get Cuisance and Zirkzee as they absolutely scuffled. As for Chris Richards, I don’t get that one. I think he was generally solid in his appearances and mostly under major duress. That seemed a little harsh.