Greuther Furth 1-3 Bayern Munich: Player ratings as Lewandowski’s scoring streak ends
Bayern Munich made it eight wins on the bounce with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Greuther Furth on Friday.
Bayern needed ten minutes to get themselves ahead. Alphonso Davies went charging down the wing and his cut-back found Thomas Muller, who stroked the ball home from inside the box.
The German champions retained control for the rest of the half, and although they didn’t really get out of second gear, they made it 2-0 on the half-hour mark. Joshua Kimmich curled in a gorgeous effort from outside the box to keep his electric form going.
Just two minutes into the second half, Benjamin Pavard was shown a straight red card for a clumsy challenge, but Bayern did not sit back and bagged a third with 20 minutes to go as Robert Lewandowski’s poke towards goal was deflected into the net by Sebastian Griesbeck.
Furth did grab a goal late on as Cedric Itten headed into the corner from close range, and although it was far too late to impact the game, the home fans didn’t care as they celebrated wildly.
It was a composed performance from Bayern, who were by no means electric but never really had to be as the quality of their squad saw them through to a comfortable victory.
Manuel Neuer (GK) – 6/10 – Touched the ball once or twice.
Niklas Sule (CB) – 7/10 – Rarely tested in defence and did a good job of keeping his side moving with some nice, simple passes.
Dayot Upamecano (CB) – 7/10 – Played some stunning long balls to Alphonso Davies. A nervy error late in the second half but nothing too serious.
Lucas Hernandez (CB) – 7/10 – Shifted out to left-back to allow Davies as much freedom as possible in attack. Quietly vital to the team.
Benjamin Pavard (RWB) – 2/10 – Non-existent in the first half and might as well not have come out after the break. Made a clumsy challenge and now has a suspension to deal with.
Joshua Kimmich (CM) – 7/10 – Took his goal superbly and enjoyed a lot of freedom in midfield to pull the strings and keep his side ticking.
Leon Goretzka (CM) – 6/10 – Can’t fault his effort and he was getting into a lot of good positions, but pretty wasteful with the ball at his feet.
Alphonso Davies (LM) – 7/10 – Absolutely feasted against Furth’s back line. Not always accurate with his crosses but consistently did enough to cause problems. Involved in both opening goals.
Leroy Sane (AM) – 7/10 – Involved a lot in attack but made a bigger impact defensively. Tracked back to chase everything and really looked up for a fight before being replaced on the hour mark.
Thomas Muller (AM) – 8/10 – Took his goal well and typically caused problems with his movement.
Robert Lewandowski (ST) – 5/10 – Surprisingly quiet. Didn’t show for the ball enough and found himself feeding off scraps as a result. Thought he had his record-equalling 16 straight games with a goal but saw it taken away from him.
Marcel Sabitzer (AM) – 6/10 – Didn’t do a lot.
Serge Gnabry (AM) – 6/10 – Off the bench as a late replacement for Muller.
Jamal Musiala – N/A
Josip Stanisic – N/A