Outside90’s Ari Papas selects the best performers from the latest round of Bundesliga action for our matchday 18 Team of the Week.
Oliver Baumann – Goalkeeper – TSG Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim have endured a torrid first-half of the season, ending the Hinrunde in the drop zone, however, they picked up their act against Leverkusen where they earned a respectable 1-1 draw. Oliver Baumann starred as the outgunned cellar dwellers withstood waves of attacks from the visitors, making several outstanding saves. The German frustrated Leverkusen and showed Hoffenheim’s beleaguered supporters that a relegation escape could be likely.
Kevin Grosskreutz – Right-back – VfB Stuttgart
Kevin Grosskreutz spent the second-half of 2015 in limbo, unwanted at his childhood club Borussia Dortmund he transferred to Galatasaray where he was unable to play until January due to an administrative error during the transfer. The World Cup winner returned to his homeland to play for Stuttgart as soon as he could and he made a promising start to life away from Dortmund in a 3-1 victory over FC Cologne. The right-back won over 90% of his defensive duels, showing that he was still as reliable as he was when he wore black and yellow.
Benjamin Hubner – Central-defender – FC Ingolstadt
Newly-promoted Ingolstadt stated their intent to stay in the first division with a 1-0 win over FSV Mainz. The Bavarians have the second best defensive record in the league, having conceded only 18 goals in 18 games and this run continued as Benjamin Hubner put in a man of the match performance against Mainz. Despite being dominated at home, Ingolstadt and Hubner worked hard to retain a precious clean sheet and another impressive win.
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Mats Hummels – Central-defender – Borussia Dortmund
Mats Hummels has had an interesting season under new head coach Thomas Tuchel, with a range of excellent and terrible performances. The German international showed his excellent side against Borussia Monchengladbach as the Black and Yellows dealt Gladbach their first home defeat under Andre Schubert. Hummels held the backline together and dictated the game with his passing rhythms. Despite some nervy moments, the 27-year-old was calm and earned himself personal praise from Tuchel – who called him a “top captain”.
Wendell – Left-back – Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen dominated Hoffenheim but only came away with a point in a 1-1 draw, with Wendell one of the key performers. Despite a stuttering attack, Wendell gelled well with Hakan Calhanoglu on the wings and showed a few moments of class. The 22-year-old had a passing accuracy of 90% and had some promising moments in what was otherwise a disappointing game for Die Werkself.
Marco Reus – Right-wing – Borussia Dortmund
Marco Reus is another Dortmund player who has had an indifferent first-half of the 2015-16 season under a new manager. Despite scoring and assisting goals in important games, he has also had a number of niggling but non-serious injuries that have caused inconsistency in his performances. The winter break, however, was clearly exactly what he needed as he attacked his old club Monchengladbach with energy and pace in a 3-1 victory. Reus continued his trend of opening the scoring for his club, with over 50% of his goals for Dortmund being the first in the match, and set up Mkhitaryan to put BVB up. It was an excellent all round performance from the winger and he will be looking to stay injury free in the second-half of the season.
Clemens Fritz – Central-midfielder – Werder Bremen
Bremen stunned Schalke at the Veltins-Arena with an incredible 3-1 victory. Werder were comprehensively outplayed in the first-half but managed to haul themselves back into the game, with the help of the outstanding individual performance from Clemens Fritz. The 35-year-old scored one and assisted the other two goals all while running rings around Schalke’s disorganised defence. It was a truly incredible display that brought Bremen out of the automatic relegation spot and perhaps brought some hope that they can escape the drop.
Christian Gentner – Central-midfielder – VfB Stuttgart
Stuttgart’s captain played a crucial role in their 3-1 triumph over FC Cologne and despite going a goal down within 20 minutes, Gentner galvanised the team to launch a comeback. The 30-year-old put in a spritely performance, peppering Cologne’s goal with attack after attack. His hard work paid off as he finished a perfect afternoon with a well-taken goal to give his team a winning start to 2016.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – left-wing – Borussia Dortmund
Mkhitaryan has been a revelation this season but he took his performance reached the next level against Monchengladbach. Mesut Ozil has so far been the king of assists in Europe’s top leagues, but Mkhitaryan’s setup for Ilkay Gundogan now has the Armenian sit atop the charts for most assists in Europe, with 17 to his name. The winger also scored the away sides’ second goal of the night, as his quick feet terrorised the Gladbach defence.
Robert Lewandowski – Striker – Bayern Munich
Bayern began the second half of the season with an underwhelming performance against Hamburg, yet still came away with the three points in a 2-1 win thanks to Robert Lewandowski. It seemed as though every Bayern player was having an off day, with Xabi Alonso scoring an own goal and Jerome Boateng forced off with a serious injury, but Lewandowski continued to score as always and managed to drag Bayern past a resilient Hamburg. The Polish international scored a penalty and sealed the game with an instinctive tap-in, a normal day at the office for the 27-year-old, but his individual performance was the catalyst for victory.
Alexander Meier – Striker – Eintracht Frankfurt
Alex Meier stunned VfL Wolfsburg with a sensational hat-trick in a swashbuckling 3-2 victory over last season’s runners-up. The two sides traded blows and Meier struck twice to level the score at 2-2 in a back and forth affair. It would appear as though the match was destined for a stalemate, before the 33-year-old produced another golden moment as he latched onto an error from the Wolfsburg goalkeeper, slamming home a stoppage time goal that sealed the win and his hat-trick. It was one of the German’s finest moments in a Frankfurt shirt and an impressive performance against a Champions League side.
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