Bayern Munich player ratings vs. Benfica: A night of dominance for the Germans
By Matt English
Left: Franck Ribery 7.5/10
On paper, it looks as if Franck Ribery had a poor match. His actual performance proved otherwise, however. Ribery had the secondary assist on both of Bayern’s goals. The dribbling skill and pace of the 35 year old was astonishing. The simple drop passes he had to both Alaba and James before their respective assists are a staple of his career, and they were just what Bayern needed in attack.
Right: Arjen Robben 6.5/10
Robben really did not have a great match. He had three clear cut chances where he was one on one with the keeper and failed to score in any of them. The typical cuts inside were just not working this match and he produced his fair share of embellishments. Robben did create and find a lot of space on the right side for his team, but the end product was simply lacking from the Dutch legend.
ST: Robert Lewandowski 8.5/10
It was another masterclass from Lewandowski in attack. Playing as a hold up striker, Lewandowski won eight headers and held up play expertly for Bayern. His goal came at a great time for his team in the 10th minute and it really set the pace for Bayern to dominate. A lot of what he did does not show up in the stats, but Lewandowski absolutely played his heart out for the full 90 minutes.
Substitutes: 5/10
The only substitute that had time to make a real impact was Serge Gnabry. Unfortunately, he was less than impressive. Gnabry was caught offsides a handful of times and generally was unable to make a difference. Leon Goretzka also saw the field for about 15 minutes while Müller had just a few garbage minutes at the end of the match.
The 2-0 win was strong in multiple parts of the pitch for Bayern. Starting off the new Champions League season with a win is always good to see, so Kovac should be more than pleased with the performance from his men.
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How would you rate Bayern’s overall performance out of 10?