Outside90’s Ari Papas selects the best performers from the latest round of Bundesliga action for our Matchday 10 team of the week.
Rene Adler – Goalkeeper – Hamburg SV
Hamburg looked to continue their record of never having been relegated from the Bundesliga with an impressive win away at Hoffenheim. The game was an arm-wrestle with both teams having good chances to take the win. Hoffenheim eventually crumbled to an 87th-minute goal but not without being shut down multiple times by the outstanding Rene Adler. Adler made ten saves and aerial claims throughout the game to keep a hard-earned clean sheet.
Ricardo Rodriguez – Left-back – VfL Wolfsburg
Newly promoted Darmstadt have provided problems for every team they have faced, including VfL Wolfsburg despite the Wolves’ 1-0 win on matchday 10. The danger man all season has been pacey winger Marcel Heller, who had to battle it out on the wings with Rodriguez against Wolfsburg. The Swiss full-back did an excellent job of containing Heller, dispossessing and tackling him on a number of occasions to help seal a solid win for the team.
Cleber – Centre-back – Hamburg SV
The Brazilian defender was another top performer in Hamburg’s win over Hoffenheim. The24-year-old did well to contain the fiery attacking trio of Kevin Volland, Eduardo Vargas and Adam Szalai by winning eight of his duels with the three. 80% of Cleber’s passes found a team-mate, making the young defender a rock at the back.
Dante – Centre-back – VfL Wolfsburg
Darmstadt have proven that they are no pushovers in the Bundesliga but beating a defender with the experience of Dante was a huge task. Standing at almost two metres tall, the Brazilian won all of his aerial duels and kept a passing accuracy of 91% to take control of the game. The ex-Bayern man helped his new team to the win after celebrating his 32nd birthday midweek.
Mitchell Weiser – Right-back – Hertha Berlin
Weiser left Bayern for Hertha in the off-season in search of more game time and he has already been making the most of his first-team opportunities in a 1-0 win away to Ingolstadt. Ingolstadt were very much on top the entire game, registering 18 shots but scoring none, and had to settle for a heart-breaking defeat at the hands of a drilled shot from young Mitch Weiser. The ball was bouncing around awkwardly in the box and it was the German who stepped up to drive it home on his weaker foot.
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Marco Reus – Left-wing – Borussia Dortmund
Usually the star man in the Westfalenstadion, Reus has endured an indifferent start to the season, missing a penalty for the first time in his BVB career last week. The 26-year-old put his average form behind him to send Augsburg to the pits of a relegation spot with two goals in a 5-1 dismantling. The German finally showed why Dortmund were relieved to re-sign him until 2019 with fantastic build-up play with Shinji Kagawa that lead to a number of the goals. After Aubameyang opened the scoring, Reus put the result beyond doubt leaving the score 3-0 at half-time.
Shinji Kagawa – Central-midfield – Borussia Dortmund
The Japanese international was Marco Reus’ partner in crime for most of the match, getting a hat-trick of assists. The 26-year-old’s return to form has been touted as one of the major reasons behind Dortmund’s return to form and he showed why against Augsburg. Kagawa’s deft touches left Augsburg’s defence almost dazzled at times with wonderfully crafted assists for the strike-force of Reus and Aubameyang.
Marc Stendera – Central-midfield – Eintracht Frankfurt
Stendera established himself as one of the top performers of the round with a game-saving brace to give Frankfurt a 2-1 come-from-behind win against Hannover. Not only did the 19-year-old control the game with skill well beyond his years, winning seven tackles, but his two goals were fantastic individual efforts beating multiple defenders and the goalkeeper on his own.
Arjen Robben – Right-wing – Bayern Munich
When Arjen Robben was injured again during the international break in August, many thought that the 31-year-old was reaching a breaking point in his football career. It was a long time to go without football but the Dutch talisman has no intentions of leaving Bavaria just yet by scoring a classic Robben goal against Cologne. Bayern were looking for a record-breaking 1000th Bundesliga win in the competition’s 53 years of existence and Robben made it happen by opening the scoring after picking up the ball inside the box and predictably cutting inside to shoot on his favoured left foot. It is an old trick, but it always works.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Striker – Borussia Dortmund
Another matchday and more goals from Dortmund’s record-breaking striker, except this time he went one better and got his first hat-trick of the Bundesliga campaign. The 26-year-old has been crucial to Tuchel’s new-look Dortmund, scoring or assisting in every game he’s played, and he put himself equal with Robert Lewandowski on Europe’s top scorer’s sheet with his goals against Augsburg coupled with a hat-trick midweek in the Europa League. Benefiting from the classy midfield duo of Ilkay Gundogan and Shinji Kagawa, the Gabonese striker put the Bavarian club to the sword and into an ominous relegation battle.
Raffael – Striker – Borussia Monchengladbach
Gladbach faced their most difficult test of the post-Favre era with a home match against Schalke, which they comfortably dealt with 3-1. The score was locked at 1-1 until the 70th minute when Raffael stepped up and delivered an impeccable free-kick. The Brazilian had been threatening all night and his hard work had been rewarded with a sensational goal to put Gladbach in the driving seat. The game was marred by a truly dreadful tackle from Johannes Geis that will see Andre Hahn miss a lot of football through injury but Schubert will be proud of yet another win from a revitalised Monchengladbach.
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