Bundesliga team of the season so far | Bundesliga 2018-19

Borussia Dortmund have led the Bundesliga right from the start under the new management of Lucien Favre
Borussia Dortmund have led the Bundesliga right from the start under the new management of Lucien Favre

With half of the season completed, Bundesliga has produced some mesmerising football, a flurry of young stars and quite a few surprising results with Borussia Dortmund leading the table with 42 points.

Bayern Munich, after the initial struggle, seem to have finally found a rhythm to them with 36 points followed by Borussia Monchengladbach with 33 and RB Leipzig with 31 points, completing the top 4.

Borussia Dortmund have been the team to beat this season with new manager Lucien Favre guiding the side to an impressive start with just a single defeat while winning 13 of their 17 matches.

On the contrary, defending champions Bayern Munich have had a tough start under new manager Niko Kovac but a 5-match winning streak has seen the Bavarian giants leapfrogging all the other clubs to second place.

With just 6 points separating them to current leaders Borussia Dortmund, expect Bayern Munich to come back stronger in the second half of the season.

Here is a look at the best players of the Bundesliga in the 2018-19 season so far:


Goalkeeper - Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig)

The Hungarian has been on fire for RB Leipzig this season
The Hungarian has been on fire for RB Leipzig this season

The Hungarian has been in tremendous form this season for the 2016-17 season runners-up. The 28-year old former Liverpool goalkeeper has conceded the least amount of goals this season with just 17.

The Hungarian has started all the 17 matches for the club from the former East Germany region and has averaged 3.1 saves per 90 minutes. Gulacsi has saved 55 shots this season and is ranked 8th in the shots saved category in the Bundesliga.

The Hungarian has also kept 7 clean sheets this season making him the keeper with the most number of clean sheets in Bundesliga so far this season.

Defenders

Right Back - Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

Heir to Philipp Lahm
Heir to Philipp Lahm

When Philipp Lahm left Bayern Munich at the end of the 2016-17 season, the Bavarians giants were left with an impossible task to replace a legend. The German giants though were fortunate to get an impressive replacement in Joshua Kimmich.

The versatile player has been one of the bright spots in a rather underperforming season for the defending champions. The right-back has provided 7 assists this season and has the second highest number of assist this season in the Bundesliga. Another impressive stat has been the 91.5% pass success rate for the 23-year old German International.

Centre Back - Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig)

A big future lies ahead for the youngster (L)
A big future lies ahead for the youngster (L)

One half of the meanest defence in the league, Ibrahima Konate has been a revelation at the back for RB Leipzig this year. After breaking into the first team last year, the young French centre-back has cemented his place in the first XI this year after numerous impressive performances.

The 19-year old along with fellow youngster Dayot Upamecano is one of the youngest centre-back pairings in the league. Konate has won 71.2% of his aerial duels and 61.3% of ground duels in the 13 appearances made by him in the Bundesliga.

Centre Back- Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach)

Expect some big clubs to come calling for the impressive defender
Expect some big clubs to come calling for the impressive defender

The young Swiss international has been a rock at the back for Borussia Monchengladbach this season. The 22-year old has been a phenomenal presence in Monchengladbach defence that has seen them leaking just 18 goals in 17 matches.

Nico Elvedi has averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 4.6 clearances per match while making 14 appearances in the league. The defender also has a goal to his name and has averaged a successful passing rate of 91.9% in the league.

Left Back - Lukasz Piszczek (Dortmund)

The old war-horse has been brilliant for Borussia Dortmund
The old war-horse has been brilliant for Borussia Dortmund

The old war-horse has been at his best this year for the resurgent Dortmund side. The Polish international has made 13 appearances in the league and has been a part of the second meanest defence in the league with the Ruhr side having leaked just 18 goals in the league.

The Dortmund captain has produced 4 assists and a goal in the Bundesliga so far. Piszczek has also averaged an impressive 2.7 tackles, 2.2 interceptions and 3.3 clearances per match.

Midfielders

Centre Midfielder - Axel Witsel (Dortmund)

The signing of the season?
The signing of the season?

Arguably one of the signings of the season, Axel Witsel has been phenomenal for Borussia Dortmund this season. After a season in China, there were speculations whether the Belgian would be a success in the Bundesliga but the midfielder proved everyone wrong.

The Belgian has produced an assist and a goal this season but it's his ability to break up play and start counter attacks that has caught everyone's eyes. Witsel has averaged 1.5 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 1.5 clearances per 90 minutes with an impressive pass completion ratio of 93.7%.

Centre Midfielder - Kerem Demirbay (Hoffenheim)

Is he back to his best?
Is he back to his best?

The German seems to have finally found some consistency to his impressive displays. Demirbay has been phenomenal for the Hoffenheim producing 2 goals and 2 assists for them, but it's his creativity that has caught every club to look up and notice.

The German has created 36 chances this season, the highest in the Bundesliga while having 2.5 successful tackles, 2.4 successful take-ons and 2.5 shots per match.

Right Winger - Jadon Sancho (Dortmund)

The breakout star of the year
The breakout star of the year

One of the breakout stars in the world, Jadon Sancho has been on another level with Borussia Dortmund this season. The youngster who joined Dortmund from Manchester City during the starting of the year has made 17 appearances in the league with 7 of them from the substitution bench.

The 18-year old has made 6 goals and 7 assists making him the second highest assist leader in the league along with Joshua Kimmich and Florian Neuhaus. The young English attacker has completed 41 more take-ons this season, making him the player with the most take-ons this season.

Attacking Midfielder - Marco Reus (Dortmund)

There is no better sight than Marco Reus (L) at his brilliant best
There is no better sight than Marco Reus (L) at his brilliant best

There is no better site in the Bundesliga than Marco Reus playing at his best without being injured. The attacking midfielder has been in imperious form this season with the German making 17 straight starts for Dortmund this season.

The goals have been flowing for Reus with 11 already to his name and adding the 6 assists he has provided, Marco Reus has been directly involved in 17 goals for Dortmund this season.

Left Winger - Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Mönchengladbach )

The younger Hazard has been terrorising the Bundesliga defences this season
The younger Hazard has been terrorising the Bundesliga defences this season

The Hazards have been on fire this season with Eden Hazard terrorising the Premier League defenders while his younger brother has been terrorising the Bundesliga defenders. Just like his brother in the Premier League, Thorgan has made more dribbles, take-ons and chance created and fouls won than all his teammates.

The 25-year old has scored 9 goals and made 6 assists already in the Bundesliga this season.

Forwards

Striker - Sebastian Haller (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Sebastian Haller has had a sensational season so far.
Sebastian Haller has had a sensational season so far.

The most competitive position in the team of the season with super-sub Paco Alcacer and Luka Jovic having unbelievable starts for the season with 12 goals each. But its Jovic's teammate Sebastian Haller who makes the team instead of the duo with quite frankly a sensational season.

The Frenchman has been on fire for Frankfurt scoring 9 goals, the 6th highest in the league, and providing 8 assists for teammates, the highest in the league, and being directly involved in 17 goals for Frankfurt this season.


Honourable Mentions

Paco Alcacer - Striker (Dortmund)

The super-sub
The super-sub

When you are down by a goal or two, who better to call upon than Borussia Dortmund's super-sub Paco Alcacer. The Spanish striker has been a player reborn in Germany after years being on the bench for Barcelona.

The 25-year-old leads the scoring charts along with Luka Jovic with 12 goals with 10 of them being scored after coming off the bench, making him the first ever player to do so in a single Bundesliga season.

Luka Jovic - Striker (Eintracht Frankfurt)

The first player since Robert Lewandowski to score 5 goals in a single match in the Bundesliga
The first player since Robert Lewandowski to score 5 goals in a single match in the Bundesliga

The striking partner for Sebastian Haller, Jovic like his teammate has had a sensational season so far. The 21-year old Serbian has scored 12 goals this season, leading the table along with Paco Alcacer, and provided 3 assists for his teammates and has been directly involved in 15 goals this season.

The Serbian became the first player since Robert Lewandowski to score 5 goals in a Bundesliga match after producing 5 goals in 46 minutes against Fortuna Dusseldorf

Florian Neuhaus - Left-Winger (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

The breakout German star of the year
The breakout German star of the year

Another breakout star of the season, Florian Neuhaus has been phenomenal for Monchengladbach this season along with Thorgan Hazard

The 21-year-old German is the second highest assist maker in the Bundesliga with 7 assists to his name. The winger also has a goal to his name making him directly involved in 8 goals for Monchengladbach.

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Edited by Debjyoti Samanta