Champions Bayern dominate Bundesliga team of the season

As the Bundesliga season drew to a close on Saturday, Bayern were handed their trophy. Even a 4-1 loss to VfB Stuttgart couldn’t dampen spirits at the Allianz Arena as the champions’ season ended with a bang, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Even then, Bayern were comfortably the best team in Germany’s top tier this term and dominate our top-rated XI. 

James Rodriguez is the star man with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.63. The Colombian became a key man under Jupp Heynckes, scoring seven and registering 11 assists. He was top for key passes per 90 (3.5) in the Bundesliga and is one of technically four Bayern players to make the top-5 best-rated performers. 

Star striker Robert Lewandowski also makes the cut having gained a WhoScored.com rating of 7.49. He scored more goals (29) and had more shots (127) than any other player in the Bundesliga this term. He’s joined in attack by Hoffenheim forward and Bayern loanee Serge Gnabry. The 22-year-old excelled for Hoffenheim, scoring 10 and assisting five, while two successful dribbles and 1.2 key passes per game were also solid returns for Gnabry, who gained a WhoScored.com rating of 7.41. 

Arturo Vidal features alongside Rodriguez in the middle of the park after the Chilean thrived when called upon. He returned a WhoScored.com rating of 7.49 having scored six and assisted two, while 3.1 tackles per game also ranked among the top 10 players in the Bundesliga to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘tackling’ and gain a rating of 7.49. 

Daniel Caligiuri, a regular feature in the in-form player rankings, stars out wide in this side having gained a WhoScored.com rating of 7.57, the second best in the Bundesliga this season. He scored six goals and registered 10 assists, one of the better returns in the league, and made more tackles (149) than any other player. Leon Bailey rounds off the midfield as he continued his quest to establishing himself as one of the best wingers in Europe. He scored nine and registered six assists for Bayer Leverkusen to help return a WhoScored.com rating of 7.32. Two key passes and 1.9 successful dribbles per game helped cap off a notable campaign for the 20-year-old. 

Joshua Kimmich rounds off the Bayern contingent having registered 10 assists for the champions. The young right-back pressed forward well with his 10 assists coming from 1.8 key passes per game to help gain a WhoScored.com rating of 7.23. On the opposite flank, Philipp Max enjoyed a fine season having made more key passes (79) than any other Bundesliga player. A return of 12 assists was second only to Thomas Muller (14) in Germany’s top tier this term and saw Max earn a WhoScored.com rating of 7.09. 

Experienced centre-back Naldo makes the cut after a superb season for Schalke 04, earning a WhoScored.com rating of 7.41. The Brazilian defender scored seven goals for Germany’s second best team, four of which were assisted by Caligiuri, and made the second most clearances (193) in the Bundesliga. Hannover 96 centre-back Salif Sane pipped Naldo to top spot for the most clearances, having made 232 this term. He earned a commendable five WhoScored.com man of the match awards and gained a rating of 7.34. 

Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels completes the best rated team of the season as he gained a WhoScored.com rating of 6.92. He made 107 saves over the duration of the campaign and successfully claimed more crosses (55) than any other Bundesliga goalkeeper. It’s safe to say Wolfsburg would’ve been as good as relegated had it not been for the 25-year-old, but with Casteels between the sticks, they have a fighting chance of staving off the drop having guaranteed a playoff spot on the final day of the campaign.