In a tight affair at Borussia Park, Bayern Munich came out on top in a game they were dominant in. In the first half, Bayern struggled in front of goal and ultimately went a goal down through a Ko Itakura header. Gladbach’s goalkeeper Mortiz Nicolas in his first Bundesliga start for the club put in a strong performance denying Bayern several times to keep Gladbach in the game.
Leroy Sané who had been pushing Bayern’s attack was rewarded for his effort in with the equaliser in the 58th minute. Sané would continue to be at the heart of the Bayern attack throughout the game along with Joshua Kimmich, who assisted both of Bayern’s goals.
Bayern continued to pressure Gladbach, who offered little going forward and they were finally rewarded for their efforts with a header from Mathys Tel to give them the lead and the three points.
The win sends Bayern into second level on points with Bayer Leverkusen who they play after the international break while for Gladbach they are still winless in their first three games.
Borussia Mönchengladbach Player Ratings:
Mortiz Nicolas: 8 – Made several key saves to keep out Bayern throughout the game, without him, Gladbach would have likely been out of the game early on. Nicolas will likely have more chances to shine over the coming weeks as Gladbach deals with the loss of Jonas Omlin to a shoulder injury.
Joe Scally: 6
Marvin Friedrich: 5
Ko Itakura: 6
Maximilian Wöber: 6
Julian Weigl: 6
Rocco Reitz: 6 – Impressed in his first Bundesliga start for Gladbach as he showed glimpses that he will be useful to the team not only this season but in the future as well. However, he eventually became more quite as Gladbach found themselves with their backs against the wall.
Nathan Ngoumou: 5
Florian Neuhaus: 5
Alassane Pléa: 6
Tomáš Čvančara: 5
Others: Jordan (5), Lukas Ullrich (5), Tony Jantschke (5) Franck Honorat (n/a), Nico Elvedi (n/a)
Bayern Munich Player Ratings:
Sven Ulreich: 6
Noussair Mazraoui: 5
Dayot Upamecano: 6
Kim Min-Jae: 6
Alphonso Davies: 6
Leon Goretzka: 5
Joshua Kimmich: 8 – Was a key piece of Bayern’s attack throughout the game and provided both assists for Bayern’s goals. It is clear to see why Thomas Tuchel wanted a defensive midfielder who could allow Kimmich to get the best out of his attacking abilities.
Leroy Sané: 8 – The stand-out player from the whole game. Sané consistently caused problems for Gladbach’s defence and if it was not for the crossbar, the winger could have ended up with two goals today. From the opening three games, Sané has proven to be the most impressive Bayern player and is now joint top goalscorer with Harry Kane.
Thomas Müller: 5
Kingsley Coman: 6
Harry Kane: 5 – The first game of Kane’s time in Germany where he was rather quiet. The 30-year-old was never able to influence the game in any way.
Others: Konrad Laimer (7), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (5), Serge Gnabry (6), Mathys Tel (6), Matthijs de Ligt (n/a)
GGFN | Jack Meenan
