Bayern Munich may have clinched the German Bundesliga title in a remarkable style with 75 points and 10 points ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig, with its hitman Robert Lewandowski bagging 40 League goals. And overall, the club seems to have ticked all the boxes in terms of the personnel at its disposal – the cream of the crop.
Nevertheless, there are players who stood out for their respective club sides too.
One of the aspects where these players in the league also performed extremely well is the goalkeeping department where RB Leipzig’s Péter Gulácsi is currently the goalkeeper with the most-clean sheets (15) in the league.
And while the top goalscorers are heaped praises upon for putting the ball at the back of the net, kudos must be given to the individuals who tidied up things from the middle of the park to ensure that the attackers are in a favorable position to notch the goals.
Cheapgoals will dissect the performances of the stand-out Bundesliga midfielders who were reliable for their respective clubs.
- Maximilian Arnold (VfL Wolfsburg)
It’s understandable that there’s always stiff competition for places in the midfield of the German national team but how Arnold couldn’t get a place in Joachim Low’s squad for the EUROS is quite surprising.
The 26-year-old has been instrumental for Wolfsburg this term, making the team less reliant on the club captain Josuha Guilavogui because once he’s (Arnold) in action, he does his job pretty well.
Arnold is a dead-ball specialist, tidies up things for the back four, and finds his teammate with a pass. (And this is backed with his 87.5 rates of successful passes from open play). He does all of this without stress and not much controversy.
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- Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig)
A shocking name. Marcel Sabitzer comes to mind when it’s about picking a midfielder from Naggelsman’s RB Leipzig side but Dani Olmo has developed rapidly for the club and also the Spanish National team.
There’s a reason the 23-year-old has played in all Leipzig’s matches this season. He’s gotten the knack for defense splitting passes, cool, calm, and collected when the pressure of the game gets intense, and has the ability to link up with the attack to penetrate even the strongest defensive walls in the league.
As a player who could give his team the extra impetus, his efforts haven’t been futile, the young midfielder contributed four goals and nine assists after 31 rounds of fixtures for RB Leipzig, while his 71 shots at goal out of his 77 put him sixth overall in the league in that particular category, the most of any player who is not a striker.
He’s truly the mastermind in the midfield for Naggelsman.
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Joshua Kimmich’s enormous quality and versatility in the attack and defensive roles are why he’s one of the most consistent and reliable midfielders in the league.
Kimmich, 26, despite missing out of Bayern’s 5 matches in the first 13 of the season due to injury, has gone to notch 3 goals and 10 assists for the Bavarians this term.
It’s safe to say that there’s been a huge turnaround for Hansi Flick’s men since Kimmich came back to the team as he’s been a vital part of Bayern’s setup because he’s barely missed a game ever since.
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- Filip Kostic (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Here’s a big contest between Kostic and Daichi Kamada as the duo has been tremendous for Frankfurt. But looking as how the season has panned out for the two, it’s quite easy to pick Kostic because he didn’t get to have a bright start to the season due to his knee injury.
But according to Eintracht Frankfurt manager Adi Hütter, Kostic’s performances “exploded” in 2021.
Hütter attributed the winger’s improvement and laudable performances to full fitness and to an extent, the arrival of Luka Joviç from Real Madrid in January.
But obviously, Kostic has been massive in recent months. Frankfurt will be playing in the UEFA Europa League next season, one of the weapons of destruction in the club’s armory is the hardworking and laser footed 28-year-old, Filip Kostic.
Apart from the fact that the Serb’s tally of 12 assists (equal with Daichi Kamada) is second only to Thomas Müller’s 18, no other player created more big chances than Kostic (21) in the Bundesliga this season despite starting his campaign in November 2020.
He’s got the most crosses from open play too (207).
- Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich)
For every Lewandowski in the Bayern squad, there’s always a Thomas Müller. The Bayern Munich stalwart is seemingly getting better year after year with his passes, assisting, and a bit of goalscoring.
The 31-year-old has again had a sensational season, scoring 10 goals and recording the highest number of assists (17) in the process.
Having set a record of assists in the Bundesliga last term (21), he’s not slowing down.
Müller is tied with Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic in terms of key passes per game this season (3.0). Closely followed by Dortmund’s English youngster, Jadon Sancho at (2.0).
