Bayern Munich vs VfB Stuttgart: Player ratings and reactions

German outlets Bild and kicker are out with their ratings for Bayern Munich’s disappointing 2-2 draw with VfB Stuttgart at the weekend (via @iMiaSanMia).

It’s hard to argue with the gloomy mood in these ratings — especially for the manager. Nagelsmann has put together masterclasses as recently as last Wednesday’s Champions League win at Inter Milan, but this was a thorough downer. Bayern played the game far more lax than their usual standard, reflected in both the selection and the substitutions.

Here’s Bild, first:

It’s not a knock at any individual player so much as in the coach seemed to take this mostly as an opportunity to spread the playing time around, and the team appeared to take those cues with their energy level. Ultimately, they were forced to pay by an opponent that never stopped getting after it. The degree of initiative conceded by Bayern was shocking.

And for all the rotation, Kimmich and Davies still played the full 90 heading into Tuesday’s Champions League test against FC Barcelona. If anyone should have come on far earlier in this game, I would have liked it to be Ryan Gravenberch at the six.

Now for kicker:

A 4 for Jamal Musiala — across both outlets — is quite harsh. He was one of Bayern’s liveliest attackers, as ever, and saved the Bavarian bacon with his near-instant reply to Stuttgart’s equalizer. WhoScored and Sofascore are also far more generous to the Bayern full-backs, Noussair Mazraoui (hooked at 60 minutes! Why?) and Alphonso Davies, both of whom had pretty solid outings.

Joshua Kimmich and Matthijs de Ligt are also hard done by. This was a team disappointment more than individual error, though sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić was quite right to warn Kimmich not to mess about in his own box. On De Ligt, Nagelsmann correctly noted that the defender “played a good game” overall, and the penalty was as much on being put in that position as anything else.

Some final notes from me: Leon Goretzka had a nice first start back from injury. Not everything is perfect, but he stood out with more than a few crunching dispossessions he made in midfield. On the other start, Konstantinos Mavropanos was quite influential for a center-back playing full-back and getting upfield.

How would you rate everyone’s performance on Saturday? Let us know in the comments below!

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