Bayern Munich failed to get back on track as they stumbled to a 0:0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday night’s big encounter. Although it seems too late for the other teams to rescue the title, it will be a big blow for the record champions as they look ahead to next week’s big clash against Real Madrid. The win takes Leverkusen to 36 points while Bayern’s lead at the top goes down to just eight with five matchdays still to go. Here are the Bayern players rated in their mediocre performance versus Leverkusen.
Manuel Neuer(7.5/10): Was hardly tested by the Leverkusen frontmen. Manuel Neuer claimed his fifth consecutive Bundesliga clean sheet after returning to the domestic front after almost a month.
Rafinha(7.5/10): Chosen ahead of Philip Lahm, Rafinha was solid at the back for Bayern and hardly let anything get past him. He was also composed in possession phases as well.
Javi Martinez(8/10): He was the only fit centre-back available for Bayern on the day. Martinez showed complete resilience and commitment against Leverkusen. However, he did seem to have a little niggle later on and had to be replaced by Philip Lahm in the 76th minute.
David Alaba(7.5/10): With injuries to Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels, Austrian left back David Alaba had to deputise in the centre-back position. Alaba was fairly decent as the left-sided centre-back when he was called into action several times during the game.
Juan Bernat(7/10): A mixed performance from the Spanish International, who came into the game with a lot of attacking intent in the first half but made a lot of mistakes as they game wore on.
Arturo Vidal(7/10): Clearly struggled to keep pace with his former side Leverkusen’s power packed midfield. Had his header cleared off line by Dortmund-bound Omer Toprak. His performance isn’t a good sign for the Bavarians.
Joshua Kimmich(7/10): Had a big role to fill in with the absence of Xabi Alonso in midfield but the 21-year old failed to impress as he lacked the confidence to take on the opposition. It was only his 12th start of the season in what has been a tough one for Kimmich so far.
Thiago(7/10): One of the rare outings where the midfield maestro of Bayern failed to impose himself in the middle of the park. A much better performance from Thiago is expected when Carlo Ancelotti’s men travel to the Bernabeu next week.
Kingsley Coman(7/10): The Frenchman was nowhere near the qualities of Robben or Ribery, as Bayern failed to breach the opposition defense through the flanks. Coman should have handed Bayern with a lead but shot straight at Bernd Leno from three yards out. Left the pitch dawdling on his left thing, in which seemed like another injury for the former Juventus winger.
Douglas Costa(7.5/10): The Brazilian was clearly off pace against Bayer Leverkusen as he didn’t manage to make much on the flanks apart from putting in a few crosses from the byline to feed the likes of Thomas Muller.
Thomas Muller(7.5/10): Looked way too uncomfortable leading the frontline with Robert Lewandowski injured on the sidelines. If the Polish International doesn’t make it through, Muller will have a monstrous job of leading the line once again against the might Real Madrid.
