Outside90’s Ari Papas selects the best performers from the latest round of Bundesliga action for our Matchday 13 team of the week.
Rene Adler – Goalkeeper (Hamburg SV)
Hamburg shocked the Bundesliga with a sensational steam-rolling of Borussia Dortmund in a 3-1 victory. Dortmund were far from their usual best, but they still peppered Hamburg’s goal with their vast array of attacking talents. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan all had excellent attempts at goal thwarted by Hamburg’s No.1, as Rene Adler made six saves to give the score a flattering glow. A clean sheet escaped the 30-year-old after Aubameyang pulled one back in the dying minutes, but his teammates know that Adler played an enormous role against the black and yellows.
David Alaba – Left-back (Bayern Munich)
Bayern faced a determined Schalke side at the Veltins-Arena and were forced to work for an impressive 3-1 win. The Royal Blues showed they were not going to roll over with dogged pressing, even after David Alaba opened the scoring with a lucky deflected shot from range. The Austrian faced up against Europe’s most exciting youngster Leroy Sane and confidently shut down the Schalke youth product throughout the game.
Javi Martinez – Central-defender (Bayern Munich)
Martinez was Bayern’s other defender who got on the scoresheet against Schalke by scoring a decisive late goal to put his team ahead. Javi Martinez did well to keep Huntelaar quiet, but his most important influence came in front of goal. The Bavarians’ high defensive line was clear as Martinez rushed forward to meet a cross, nodding home the goal that virtually sealed the win for Die Roten.
Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker – Central-defender (FC Augsburg)
Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker played a starring role in a heroic win for cellar dwellers Augsburg. The 31-year-old kept out young talent Timo Werner and Daniel Didavi with a number of impressive tackles, but he also kept the penalty area safe by winning all of his aerial duels. To top it off, the German got on the scoresheet himself to put Augsburg 3-0 up in under 36 minutes.
Christian Trasch – Right-back (VfL Wolfsburg)
The 28-year-old was among a number of top performers in Wolfsburg’s 6-0 dismantling of Werder Bremen. Christian Trasch bonded well with Vieirinha on the wing as they pulled apart Bremen almost every time they went forward. He maintained a 75% pass completion rate and an 80% tackle success rate. Kept the German-made winger Zlatko Junuzovic completely invisible during the game and ensured his side recorded a clean sheet.
Hakan Cahlanoglu – Left-wing (Bayer Leverkusen)
Hakan Cahlanoglu showed why he is hot property for some of Europe’s biggest clubs with a wonderful attacking display in a 3-1 away victory at Frankfurt. The Turkish youngster made mincemeat of the opposition defence, combining well with Javier Hernandez and Kevin Kampl to give his side a two goal advantage within 40 minutes. The hosts pegged one back and the game was a tense battle, until Cahlanoglu curled a delightful strike from just outside the box to score and seal victory.
Lewis Holtby – Central-midfield (Hamburg SV)
The midfielder was a top performer in Hamburg’s hugely impressive 3-1 victory over Dortmund. BVB’s backline was in complete disarray and the home side would not allow them to get to the break without dealing some serious damage. Although they were already a goal up, Hamburg really piled the misery on the Westphalians when Lewis Holtby ran through Dortmund’s defence to slot the ball past Roman Burki. The 25-year-old impressed throughout the night, gelling his teams attacks together and cut through Dortmund’s defence with surprising ease.
Max Kruse – Central-midfield (VfL Wolfsburg)
Kruse put in another sparkling display for Wolfsburg in their 6-0 win over Werder Bremen. The German international was involved in almost every attack and even managed a couple of goals himself. The 27-year-old engaged his teammates confidently with 81% passing accuracy and made fools of Bremen’s defence by facilitating six goals. He completed the humiliation with one of his own in the dying minutes.
Vieirinha – Right-wing (VfL Wolfsburg)
Everyone at Wolfsburg wanted in on the goalmouth action, including Vieirinha who assisted one of the eventual six and scored a spectacular effort. The Portuguese winger put himself on display when linking-up with Kruse and Bas Dost and Bremen’s defence was simply absent as each player took their opportunity to add goals to their season tally. Vieirinha’s effort in particular was quite impressive, the attacking freedom granted to the destructive winger will give him the confidence to add more goals to his tally in the future.
Thomas Muller – Striker (Bayern Munich)
Thomas Muller put himself well beyond his personal best of goals scored in a signle season with a well-taken effort against Schalke – now with a record of 12 goals already this term. Bayern were pushed to the very limit by the Ruhr club and had to strike late to steal three points. Martinez had Bayern a goal up in the dying moments of the game, but it was Muller who put the match to bed with a difficult finish. The Bavarian forward beat a Schalke defender and the goalkeeper with an accurate shot drilled into the far corner from a tight angle.
Moritz Hartmann – Striker – FC Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt took the points and the plaudits in a fascinating encounter with fellow promoted side Darmstadt in a 3-1 win. Both teams had enjoyed a fantastic start to the season and the result could play a huge part in Ingolstadt’s bid to stay in Germany’s top-flight. Die Schanzer were a goal down at halftime and desperately needed a few for themselves, only scoring seven as a team so far in the Bundesliga. The Bavarian club equalised in the 58th and Moritz Hartmann led a stirring comeback, scoring a penalty and a diving header in the final minutes of the game to hand Ingolstadt an invaluable three points.
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