The Bundesliga is heading into the home stretch with just nine games left in the season. But for the first 25 games of the campaign, a select group of players separated themselves from the rest with their outstanding performances.
So as the season begins to wind down, SBOBET takes a closer look at these standout players for each position and find out why they deserve to be considered the best of the best this season.
Best Goalkeeper – Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach)
With Manuel Neuer showing signs of decline at age 34, Sommer has swooped in to take the title of best keeper in the league this season. The Swiss shot-stopper has been brilliant for Gladbach this year. He is currently second in the league in saves (81) and first in save percentage (73.7%)
Thanks to Sommer’s efforts, Gladbach are tied for the third-best defensive record in the league with just 30 goals conceded and are still in striking distance for the title.
Best Centre-Back – Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig)
Upamecano is one of the most in-demand young central defenders at the moment, and with good reason. The 21-year-old has been a rock at the heart of RB Leipzig’s top-class defence this year. Leipzig have given up just 26 goals, tied with Bayern for the best defensive record in the league.
Upamecano seemingly has all the tools to be an elite centre-back: pace, passing ability, and keen defensive instincts. He’s even shown some leadership capabilities, which have been much needed with captain Willi Orban’s absence due to injury.
Best Full-Back – Achraf Hakimi (Borussia Dortmund)
Hakimi is a hidden gem no more as he’s produced several eye-catching performances for Dortmund all season. He may not even be technically a full-back anymore, with Dortmund boss Lucien Favre playing Hakimi all around the park to take full advantage of his great attacking skills.
Those amazing attacking instincts have resulted in 10 assists and several more Bundesliga 2020 highlights thus far. Hakimi is likely to add a few more before the end of the season as Dortmund look to overtake Bayern for the title.
Bayern’s teenager Alphonso Davies also deserves a special mention. The 19-year-old has been a revelation as he’s made that left-back spot his own despite not having much experience playing the position. It seems like just a matter of time before the title of the best full-back in the league is his.
Best Central Midfielder – Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich)
Despite his undoubted talents, Thiago remains criminally underappreciated as his contributions at Bayern often go unnoticed.
The fact of the matter is that the Spanish maestro makes Bayern tick. He rarely gives the ball away, and when he’s given a chance, he can carve an opposing defence apart with his incisive passing. And despite his diminutive stature, he does his fair share of defensive work.
Thiago figures to be right in the middle of Bayern’s late-season charge once again as they close in on an eighth consecutive championship.
Best Winger – Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Sancho has proven this season that his magnificent 2018-19 campaign was no fluke. The English ace is not only second in the league with 15 assists (one behind Thomas Muller), but he’s also third in the goalscoring charts with 14 goals.
Without a shadow of a doubt, he has once again been the best winger in Germany this season. There’s also a good case to be made that he’s been the best winger in all of Europe and even the world.
Sancho will play a crucial role in Dortmund’s dreams of overtaking Bayern for the title over the last nine games of the season.
The Bundesliga 2020 odds don’t like Dortmund’s chances, but the 20-year-old has shown time and again that despite his young age, he is capable of stepping up to the task.
Best Striker – Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Even at age 31, Lewandowski is showing no signs of slowing down as the Bundesliga’s premier goal-getter. In fact, the prolific Pole was in the midst of one of his best-ever seasons as he scored in each of Bayern’s first 11 Bundesliga matches.
That run fell just one game short of matching the all-time league record for consecutive games with a goal — which he also holds.
Lewandowski is currently at 25 goals and remains well on course to lead the Bundesliga in scoring for the fifth time in his career.
Timo Werner deserves a special mention for his terrific season as well. The Leipzig star had a brilliant start under new manager Julian Nagelsmann, so much so that he had a legitimate argument for being the league’s best striker ahead of Lewandowski.
However, Werner has cooled off significantly in 2020 — he has just three league goals this calendar year — so unless he heats up again in the final nine games, Lewandowski will remain comfortably in the lead.
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