An action packed week saw many of the bottom clubs face off against each other. Freiburg v Werder, Stuttgart v Hamburg and Nürnberg v Frankfurt all needed big performances from their players. With another high scoring match day we were treated to 31 goals. Find out who made the difference in Match Day 26’s Team of the Week.
GOALKEEPER
Loris Karius (Mainz):The 20 year old keeper did a fine job between the sticks against Bayern as he kept them in the game for 82 minutes. He made a number of saves, with three being top class and couldn’t do anything about the two goals conceded late on. Since finding himself as the number one keeper after Müller’s injury, Karuis finds himself with quite a record. In the 15 Bundesliga games he has played, Mainz have only lost 3 of those.
DEFENDERS
Mats Hummels (Dortmund):Hummels was a rock in defence alongside Sokratis. The pair of them made a combined 20 defensive actions against Hannover, limiting them to just 3 shots on target. However it was Hummels decisive actions down the other end that helped ease concerns for Dortmund. After a nervy 40 minutes Hummels popped up to poke the ball past Zieler from a well-worked short corner.
Martin Stranzl (Gladbach):Another commanding performance from the giant Austrian defender. He made the most clearances off any player on the pitch as he prevented the in-form Ramos from having a single shot at goal. He also completed 94% short passes and 80% long passes, where he was involved in Gladbach’s first goal as he unleashed Herrmann who set up Arango for the opener. Later in the second half the post denied him a goal from a corner.
Jerome Boateng (Bayern):It was a game that Bayern needed their defenders to be switched on. Mainz really went for Bayern from the onset and were unlucky to not fashion more clear cut chances than they did. This was mainly down to the form of Martinez and Boateng, as they were able to stifle the majority of Mainz’s quick counter attacks. Boateng made 3 tackles, 9 clearances and attempted over 100 passes with a 93% success rate. In addition to his short-passing success rate he also completed 71% of his long passes, which helped start Bayern attacks.
Erik Durm (Dortmund):With his first start since December the young fullback put in a similar performance that won him many fans since his displays in the Hinrunde. Replacing the injured Schmelzer throughout the season, both domestically and in European competition, the converted fullback found the balance between attack and defense. Overall he made 4 tackles, 6 interceptions and 5 clearances. Further up field he successfully went past Hannover players 5 times and even had the audacity to have a long range shot, which wasn’t far off target. Klopp will feel reassured he has Durm to call upon during Schmelzer’s injury layoff.
MIDFIELDERS
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern):Back to back Team of the Week inclusion, Schweinsteiger has been immense since returning from injury. Bayern controlled possession throughout this match, as per usual, but Mainz defended astutely to the point it took the visitors until the 82nd minute to break the deadlock. The scorer was Schweinsteiger as he got on the end of a long range cross by Shaqiri to score a well-placed header. It proved to be another game where Schweinsteiger and Kroos both achieved over 100 passes each as Bayern had 78% of the possession.
Leon Goretzka (Schalke):A lot was expected of Goretzka after his drawn out move to Schalke. The highly rated youngster has made 17 appearances this season, albeit 10 of those were coming off the bench. With limited opportunities for a starting spot in the central midfield Goretzka has stepped up recently in Farfan’s absence by providing an option out wide. It only took 17 minutes for Goretzka to open proceedings as he scored a wonderful shot from long range. In addition to his goal he had the joint highest tackles made and was involved in Schalke’s 3rd goal where Szalai eventually got it past Davari. A few more performances like this will hopefully see the youngster cement a starting role in Keller’s side.
Tranquillo Barnetta (Frankfurt):The Swiss international was a huge asset to Frankfurt’s attacks against Nürnberg. He stormed forward to receive a squared ball from Aigner to score his first goal of the season, and tested Schäfer not long after with a fine header. Goal scoring aside, it was Barnetta’s creativity that helped Frankfurt earn a commanding victory. By playing in the central attacking role he was able to set up teammates for a goal scoring opportunity five times, including a freekick that led to Frankfurt’s 3rd goal. With a 93% pass rate and 75% cross rate everything seemed to work for him in a vital game for the struggling Eagles.
Ibrahima Traoré (Stuttgart):In one of Stuttgart’s most important games Traoré stood up and proved to be very influential. The speedy wide man tested the Hamburg defence early on with an attempt from a deflection and then delivered a teasing indirect freekick that was headed just wide by Gentner. After the break and Calhanoglu’s dismissal the play started to open for Stuttgart and Traoré pounced on a poor Westermann clearance. He then ran to the byline to set up Maxim for a tap in, which proved to be the winner.
STRIKERS
Raffael (Gladbach):The Brazilian was more of a creative outlet in this game as he combined with Kruse to torment the Hertha BSC backline. His brother Ronny only beat him for the most key passes of the game, but Raffael went passed the most players of anyone else on the pitch. As a result he was eventually rewarded for his attacking play as his first and only shot of the game found the back of the net. A fine one-two with Max Kruse opened up the Hertha defence for Raffael to glide through and lift the ball over the onrushing Thomas Kraft.
Admir Mehmedi (Freiburg):In a game where both sides only had three shots each it was Mehmedi’s performance that proved to be the difference. After a stunning volley by Schuster to get the game underway, Mehmedi continued to threaten Werder Bremen’s goal. He had a few chances in the first half to set up teammates but it wasn’t until the second half when things started to click. In the 53rd minute he took down a long range weighted pass with a fine touch to then race towards the byline. After skipping past Ignjovski he was able to pick his pass without pressure and found Felix Klaus to make it 2-0 to Freiburg. Only a few minutes later Mehmedi picked up on a deflection from Klaus’ shot and set Freiburg on their way to claim their 100th home win in the Bundesliga.