Outside90’s Ari Papas selects the best performers from the seventh round of Bundesliga action for our matchday seven team of the week.
Ron-Robert Zieler – Goalkeeper – Hannover 96
Strugglers Hannover came into their fixture with VfL Wolfsburg as clear underdogs and ended up leaving with a hard-fought point. Their 1-1 draw with the Wolves was impressive considering they were on the back foot for most of the match, but it was Ron-Robert Zieler who put on a star performance to help his team. The 26-year-old made eight important saves and managed to survive the constant harassment from in-form striker Bas Dost.
Sebastian Boenisch – Right-back – Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen’s defence had a stern challenge away at Werder Bremen: to keep out the impressive strike force of Anthony Ujah and Claudio Pizarro. Roger Schmidt’s men did an excellent job and kept Werder quiet while they returned home with a 3-0 victory. Sebastian Boesnich played a key role in keeping the defence of Die Werkself tidy, winning over 90% of his defensive duels.
Andreas Christensen – Central-defender – Borussia Monchengladbach
Gladbach claimed their second win since the departure of Lucien Favre at the expense of fellow strugglers VfB Stuttgart. It was a topsy-turvy encounter which saw the Foals almost let go of their two-goal lead in the second half as Stuttgart spurned multiple chances. Christensen was at the heart of a leaky Gladbach defence, keeping things together where he could. The 19-year-old could not salvage a clean sheet for his team but his individual performance, winning 95% of his defensive challenges, kept them in the game.
David Abraham – Central-defender – Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt looked to be cruising to victory against Hertha Berlin when the scores were 1-0 at half time. Berlin came out of the blocks all guns blazing and David Abraham, along with his defensive partners, had to shore up Eintracht’s back line. The Argentine tried to his best to keep the win intact, winning all his tackles, but they conceded a late equaliser.
Junior Caicara – Left-back – FC Schalke
It was an even affair between Hamburg and Schalke with the away side taking home the points in 1-0 win. The Royal Blues were slightly more effective in attack thanks to their attacks down the flanks, with Caicara contributing to five crosses and 60% dribbling success rate.
Admir Mehmedi – Right-wing – Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen’s recent resurgence after a string of defeats has revolved around their wingers, with Mehmedi among the best performers. The 24-year-old opened the scoring for his team in a cagey meeting between the two and was involved in almost every attack down the right-wing.
Granit Xhaka – Central-midfield – Borussia Monchengladbach
Xhaka is touted as an exciting prospect for the future despite enduring a woeful start to the season. The Swiss has picked himself up and put in another excellent display for Gladbach who claimed their second win of the season against Stuttgart. The 23-year-old appears more comfortable in his role as a midfield lynchpin and maintained an 80% passing accuracy with an even passing distribution. He headed home a set piece to open the scoring for the Foals to give stand-in coach Andre Schubert some breathing space.
Thiago Alcantara – Central-midfield – Bayern Munich
Bayern had another underwhelming first-half performance against Mainz where they failed to score and looked out of breath in front of goal. The dominance of the Bavarians in the midfield kept them in the game, orchestrated by Thiago. The Spaniard had a 91% pass completion rate and won more defensive duels than any other player on the pitch. Guardiola’s half-time talk spurred the team into action, but Thiago was a consistent performer for the whole 90 minutes.
Julian Brandt – Left-wing – Bayer Leverkusen
Brandt is another of the many brilliant young talents in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen’s star man Hakan Cahlanoglu was rested against Bremen for the Champions League tie with Barcelona and Brandt stepped into his position with style. The 19-year-old showed off his dribbling and passing skills then extended Leverkusen’s lead in the 58th minute with a well-taken free kick.
Kevin Volland – Striker – TSG Hoffenheim
The 23-year-old showed why he is one of Germany’s most promising young strikers with a man-of-the-match performance in Hoffenheim’s 3-1 away win against Augsburg. Volland opened the scoring with pinpoint accuracy seeing his shot sneak between the goalkeeper and the near post and scored once again from the penalty spot in the second half. The German then turned provider for Jonathan Schmid who sealed the win in the 73rd minute.
Robert Lewandowski – Striker – Bayern Munich
‘Lewy’ was at it again in Bayern’s 3-0 win away at Mainz. The ex-Borussia Dortmund striker scored his 100th and 101st goals in the Bundesliga making him the quickest non-German player to achieve this feat. It was another case of a game of two halves for Bayern, after a goalless first half where Thomas Muller missed a penalty. Six minutes after the restart, Lewandowski scored a pinpoint header and added to his tally 12 minutes later after rounding the goalkeeper.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
