Most eyes were drawn to der Klassiker and we were treated to a huge performance from Dortmund as they put Bayern in their place. That aside, there were clashes for European spots and the relegation battle that produced some massive displays by individuals. It proved to be the Match Day of the fullbacks, as you will see below, with four making the Team of the Week.

GOALKEEPER
Jens Grahl (Hoffenheim): With Hoffenheim’s regular goalkeeper Casteels ruled out for the rest of the season, it came down to Grahl to deny the attacking talent of Augsburg. Fresh off the victory against Bayern, Augsburg came at Grahl’s goal from the onset. He made 8 saves, most of top-class quality, to keep his first clean sheet in the Bundesliga, and Hoffenheim’s second of the season.

DEFENDERS
Zdeněk Pospěch (Mainz): Rolling back the years, 35 year old Pospěch had a fantastic game against plucky Werder Bremen. Mainz absolutely dominated this game and Pospěch helped by constantly offering his services down the right flank. He beat 6 players throughout the match and contributed to two of Mainz’s goals. The first came when he delivered a ball into the box, which eventually found Moritz. The second was a fantastic midfield and defence splitting pass that was met by Malli to make it 3-0 and seal a commanding win for Mainz.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Dortmund): What a performance from the big Greek international. He has stood up to the plate to fill in for the injured Subotic with some remarkable performances. We all knew this guy was a great defender, but his leadership in an unstable and constantly changing backline has been crucial. The no-nonsense defender made 7 defensive clearances and 3 interceptions to deny the Bayern attackers any clear chances. To top everything off he assisted Hofmann for Dortmund’s third goal by playing a long range lofted through-ball to split the Bayern centre backs.

Sead Kolasinac (Schalke): This was a pretty poor day at the office for Schalke as they struggled to find any real width. Without the pace and width of Obasi or Farfan, any real threat from out wide came squarely down to the fullbacks. Kolasinac didn’t disappoint. Much like Sokratis for Dortmund, Kolasinac is a real no-nonsense defender, getting in hard and using his upper body strength to ease forwards off the ball. He made the most tackles of any other player on the pitch as he quelled any Frankfurt attacks. His long-range strike near the hour mark led to Schalke’s first goal after it smashed off the upright into Huntelaar’s path, and was eventually sealed by Meyer.

Christian Günter (Freiburg): Günter put in a rampaging performance against Braunschweig as he continuously bombed down the flank. He proved to be one of Freiburg’s best outlets and was nearly rewarded by going on a mazy run from out wide and cutting inside to go past three Braunschweig players, to only be denied by the keeper. Over the course of the game he successfully took on players seven times down the left flank.

Erik Durm (Dortmund): From shutting out Gareth Bale in the Champions League to silencing Arjen Robben on the weekend, this youngster finds himself in wonderful form. He made 4 tackles, 5 interceptions and 3 clearances in a fine defensive display. Stats aside, the converted forward is playing so well he might even get on the plane to Brazil in the summer.

MIDFIELDERS
Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg): Finally the performance everyone has been waiting for. De Bruyne was a creative force for Wolfsburg against relegation battlers Nürnberg. With a massive 8 key passes that led to goal scoring opportunities, De Bruyne ended the game with two assists. His first was for Olic with a dangerous ball into the box, which levelled the scores. The second assist came on the back of a mix up in the Nürnberg defence. De Bruyne quickly pounced and played in Perišić who calmly chipped it over the keeper. The Belgium international was quite simply immense in this game and hopefully, for Wolfsburg’s sake, he can continue this form and they can claim a top four spot.

Johannes Geis (Mainz): Another commanding performance from midfield for the youngster. This kid just keeps getting better and better, to the point he’ll be knocking on Löw’s door in no time. 5 key passes, 4 tackles and 5 clearances can sum up just how involved Geis was in this game, and has been this season. All the play seems to go through him and at only 20 years old, this kid has a bright future ahead of him.

Lars Stindl (Hannover): It proved to be top class performance from the Hannover captain as he led his team to a vital 2-1 win over Hamburg. He started off well by testing Adler from range, but it was only moments later that he found the net. Still within 10 minutes from the start, Stindl charged into the box to get on the end of a cross from Edgar Prib. Just before half time he was denied by Adler to add to his tally after playing a delightful one-two with Ya Konan. To put things into perspective he had 10 shots in this game, playing behind the striker, double what Hamburg could muster.

Ivan Perišić (Wolfsburg): While De Bruyne ran the show as the creative outlet, Perišić bagged a brace to add to Wolfsburg’s route of Nürnberg. His first goal and Wolfsburg’s second was a beautiful chip over the advancing Schäfer after he received a pass from De Bruyne. With a Malanda goal in the second half, Perišić ended the route after sealing a well-worked Wolfsburg counter.

STRIKERS
Marco Reus (Dortmund): This guy has been in exceptional form recently. After a top class performance against Real Madrid midweek, the blonde haired whiz kid punished a lax Bayern defence. By playing with a high line, Reus and Co. took their chances superbly. 20 minutes in Reus took a deft touch to play in Mkhitaryan who promptly scored by smashing it past Neuer to open the proceedings. After a strong run by Mkhitaryan, who picked out Aubameyang, Reus made it 2-0 with a lunging effort. Good signs for Klopp as Reus and Aubameyang combined well, both swapping positions throughout the game.