As the Bundesliga takes an early Winterpause due to the impending FIFA World Cup, there is a familiar name on top of the table. But Bayern München find themselves surrounded by unfamiliarity while more traditional powerhouses struggle with form and identity.
It’s been a whirlwind opening 15 games that have witnessed shocks, sackings and surprises. Who will come out on top as the end-of-term marks are handed out?
By Chris Williams, our Bundesliga expert
The good
It did look like Union Berlin would graduate from the Hinrunde with straight As, but a terrible November has seen Die Eisernen slip to a B+. A wonderful mark still for a club that operates on far less than those around it but maybe a sense of reality came to the capital as winter approached.
Sitting ninth in goals per match, with 1.6, there had been a discussion that perhaps grounding would come when their xG eventually matched with actuality.
Jordan Pefok and Sheraldo Becker set the league alight early on but their shooting boots have slipped off lately, only one goal in the last eight games between them has seen the one-time leaders slip to fifth – picking up just one win in their last five matches.
While the club from the Big City faltered there was another ready to take their place, and SC Freiburg did that emphatically. Christian Streich’s men have been consistent, and it’s no shock they find themselves second, four points behind Bayern and two clear of Leipzig.
With eight clean sheets – the most in all of the Bundesliga – they only just sit behind the Bavarian giants in goals conceded per match, second with 1.1 while their attacking threat in the opposite box has seen opposition defenders panic, with five penalties awarded in their favour.
The ever-dependable Vincenzo Grifo has notched up a season so far FotMob rating of 7.72, nine goals and two assists are the headline but drill into his campaign and you’ll see goals from inside the box, outside, free kicks, left foot, right foot and from the penalty spot.
As Freiburg breezed past Union 4-1 in Sunday’s match-up, the Italian hit a hattrick, two of those from the spot showed just how composed he is under pressure – a 9.7 rating was no fluke.
Would any review of greatness be complete without the mention of perennial champions Bayern München? It would seem not. Early running saw the Rekordmeister out of contention for the top slots, defeat at Augsburg saw Julian Nagelsmann’s men languishing in fifth.
Since that September afternoon they haven’t lost a match, only dropping points to Dortmund in a thrilling Klassiker, and they’ve rediscovered their deadly form.
Hitting Leverkusen for four, they then smashed five past Freiburg, before demolishing both Mainz and Werder with six each. It leaves them with 49 goals scored, outperforming their xG of 36 and creating 45 big chances across 15 games. The Bavarians top the charts on pretty much everything, including the only one that really matters – the league table.
The bad
There is a queue of clubs that could have made the cut for underperforming in the run-up to the winter break but it’s only natural we start at the bottom of the table.
Schalke 04 are rooted at the foot of the Bundesliga, five points adrift from safety and looking equally as poor as the last time they were in the league. Relegation may be an almost certainty already but at least they can look back on two games where all three points were taken.
Unsurprisingly, being the worst side in the league they sit in the bottom three clubs for almost every team statistic, their only light relief is – just one player has been sent off all season, Dominick Drexler during defeat to Köln.
Head coach Frank Krammer only lasted until Matchday Nine, and Thomas Reis could face a similar exit in 2023. On arrival, the 49-year-old said “it’s about picking up as many points as possible in the four games until the break for the World Cup,” – they’ve picked up three.
Every year for the past insert your own number of years, Borussia Dortmund have had the resources to break Bayern’s stranglehold on the title. However, there’s always been something to summon the arrival of storm clouds over the Westfalenstadion.
This particular season has seen injury woes, a lack of consistency and too many individual mistakes – it leaves Edin Terzic with a lot to mull over as he eats his Christmas Dinner.
An inability to get a rhythm going has seen the Black and Yellows yo-yo from game to game. Highs include a 5-0 victory over struggling Stuttgart, while bitter defeat at home to Werder Bremen and an absolute roasting away to fellow Borrusia in Mönchengladbach, highlight the lows seen by a team which should be challenging for the top.
Jude Bellingham leads the way with a 7.53 FotMob rating, he should be well inside the eights but a personal rollercoaster has matched that of the team, and 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko is their top scorer and top assister – six and three respectively is a good return for his age, but a young teenager should be learning from those around not dragging them back into games.
The rest
What about the midfield, the also rans for who it looks neither stale nor sunny? Xabi Alonso’s arrival at Bayer Leverkusen has seen an upturn in form, nine goals with only one conceded in their last three outings has moved The Werkself out of the relegation zone, and gives them a 2023 to look forward to.
Marco Rose is another name who returned to the league after the season got underway. RB Leipzig didn’t hang around in dismissing Domenico Tedesco and the ex-Gladbach and Dortmund tactician was their man of choice to come in and turn things around.
I think we can absolutely say the 46-year-old has done that. Propelling Die Roten Bullen from 13th to third in just eight weeks. Unbeaten in 13 games across three competitions they even saw off Real Madrid in the Champions League.
How they wish they would have started the season with Rose, they could well be top.
(Images from IMAGO)
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