Borussia Dortmund's Paco Alcacer (l.) wasn't the only player to rewrite the Bundesliga history books in 2018/19. - © 2018 Getty Images
Borussia Dortmund's Paco Alcacer (l.) wasn't the only player to rewrite the Bundesliga history books in 2018/19. - © 2018 Getty Images
bundesliga

Best in Class 2018/19: Alcacer, Lewandowski, Pizarro, Sancho and more...

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

From Robert Lewandowski, Claudio Pizarro and Paco Alcacer breaking scoring records to Bayern Munich reaching a new milestone and Dodi Lukebakio doing something nobody had ever done before, the 2018/19 Bundesliga season was filled with statistical treats to thrill the number's geek lurking inside all of us.

So curl up with your calculator as bundesliga.com rounds up some of the campaign's best facts and figures…

The goals

With nets rustling a whopping 973 times across Germany's top flight at a European-best average of 3.18 goals per game, 2018/19 was the highest scoring Bundesliga season this century.

Of those, 146 (15 per cent) were scored by substitutes – an all-time Bundesliga high. Borussia Dortmund forward Alcacer hit a record 12 of his 18 goals as a supersub, making him the most clinical forward in league history with a strike every 66.83 minutes played.

Watch: The men behind the standout Bundesliga stats in 2018/19

As if that were not enough, record champions Bayern became the first club in Bundesliga history to score 4,000 times. Serge Gnabry had the honour of netting the milestone goal when he made it 4-1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 24. For context, Werder Bremen and Dortmund are the next all-time top scorers in Germany, both with 3,132 goals.

The goalscorers

Lewandowski topped the scoring charts for the second season in a row, with 22 goals - four more than Alcacer. Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic, Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric, Dortmund’s Marco Reus and Wolfsburg’s Wout Weghorst all finished on 17 goals, followed by Ishak Belfodil (Hoffenheim) and Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) on 16, and Sebastien Haller (Frankfurt) and Yussuf Poulsen (Leipzig) on 15 apiece.

In addition to winning his fourth top scorer's prize, Lewy overtook Pizarro as the Bundesliga's all-time best foreign-born goalgetter and currently has 202 goals to his name. He is just the fifth player in history to reach the double century landmark.

Top of the shots: Lewandowski has scored 20 goals or more in seven of his nine seasons in the Bundesliga. - 2019 DFL

Not to be outdone, Pizarro set a new record himself by becoming the oldest Bundesliga goalscorer ever at the age of 40 years, four months and 13 days when his free-kick squeezed past Hertha Berlin on Matchday 22. He bettered that a few weeks later against Dortmund, before raising the age record to 40 years, four months and 18 days with final-day strike against Leipzig.

Another first was reached somewhat earlier in the campaign when Fortuna Düsseldorf's Dodi Lukebakio hit a hat-trick in a shock 3-3 draw away to Bayern, becoming the first Bundesliga player ever to score three past Manuel Neuer in one game.

The providers

There was another Bayern-Dortmund one-two in the assists race, but this time it was BVB who claimed pole. Jadon Sancho laid on a league-high 14 goals for his teammates - one more than Barcelona's Lionel Messi managed in La Liga! Bayern's Joshua Kimmich was hot on the Englishman's heels with 13 - a career-best for the 24-year-old in only his fourth season as a Bundesliga player.

Julian Brandt (11) and Thorgan Hazard (10) thrived in the role of creator-in-chief at Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach respectively, the duo earning summer moves to Dortmund as a result. Filip Kostic also hit double figures as the principal supply line for Jovic and Co. at Frankfurt, followed by five players on nine assists, including teammate Haller and Bayern enigma, Thomas Müller.

Watch: Jadon Sancho under the microscope

The runners

Tireless, industrious, grafters… call them what you will, these boys have some serious engines on them. Bremen midfielder Maximilian Eggestein ran further than anyone else in the league all season, covering 254.27 miles, at an average of 7.48 miles per game. Bayern's Kimmich wasn't far behind at 252.15 miles, followed by Bremen defender Ludwig Augustinsson (249.54 miles), Leverkusen's Havertz (241.4 miles) and Werder's Davy Klaassen (237.18 miles).

Wolfsburg's Weghorst showed he has more to his game than simply banging the goals in, making more sprints than anyone else in Germany's top flight (1,133). Frankfurt's Danny da Costa was next (1,047), followed by Kostic and Sancho (both on 1,017) and Hazard (967).

The fastest player in the division was a name that may not be as familiar, however. Hertha Berlin's Lukas Klünter clocked the top speed, registering a lung-busting 21.99 mph at his peak. Frankfurt’s Ante Rebic, Real Madrid-owned Dortmund full-back Achraf Hakimi (both 21.81 mph), Wolfsburg left-back Jerome Roussillon (21.79 mph), Havertz (21.76 mph) and Leipzig’s Konrad Laimer (21.74 mph) complete the top five speedsters.

Blink and you'll miss him: Hertha Berlin defender Lukas Klünter was the quickest player in the Bundesliga in 2018/19. - imago/Team 2

The woodwork

After finishing just three points off the European qualifying places, Hoffenheim have more reason to wonder 'what if?' than most: Julian Nagelsmann's side hit the frame of the goal a league-high 27 times. If all of those had gone in, they would have scored 97 goals, nine more than Bayern ended up with. The eventual champions had their share of bad luck too, though, hitting the woodwork on 22 occasions. Leipzig and Wolfsburg were next with 15 apiece, followed by Dortmund (14).

Hoffenheim striker Belfodil was responsible for most of those near-misses, striking the post or crossbar five times. The same fate befell Kramaric, Lewandowski, Hanno Behrens and Karim Bellarabi four times each.

Penalties

Schalke had the rub of the green more than any other team inside the opposition penalty area, with the Royal Blues awarded nine penalties, of which they scored a league-high seven. Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Hoffenheim and Gladbach were next in line, each being given seven spot-kicks. Hoffenheim converted six of them, Leipzig and Düsseldorf five, while Gladbach tucked away four.

The best takers in the division were in Wolfsburg and Augsburg, who both scored all five of their penalties. Dortmund, Hertha, Frankfurt, Bremen (all four), Hannover (three) and Stuttgart (one) also did not miss from the spot in 2018/19.

Do spare a thought for relegated Nuremberg, though, who scored just two of the six penalties they were awarded.

Goal or no goal? Ishak Belfodil (r.) hit the woodwork more often than anyone else in the Bundesliga this season. - imago/foto2press

Own goals

A total of 19 own goals were scored in total throughout the campaign, the majority of which came from VfB Stuttgart players (four). Leverkusen were the next most unfortunate side with three, followed by Nuremberg, Hertha and Augsburg with two.

No single player scored more than one own goal and only seven clubs didn't put the ball in their own net all season: Gladbach, Düsseldorf, Mainz, Dortmund, Bremen, Wolfsburg and Freiburg.

The bad boys

Every team has them: the guy constantly snapping at your heels to win the ball back – the player you would hate to play against but love to have in your side. Hertha's Ondrej Duda was the man guilty of committing most fouls over the course of the campaign with 70. Augsburg's Andre Hahn was not far behind (64), pursued by Frankfurt's Gelson Fernandes (56), Hoffenheim's Joelinton (51) and Mainz's Jean-Paul Boetius (50).

Three players were booked 10 times: Santiago Ascacibar, Kaan Ayhan and William, while Daniel Caligiuri, Marcel Sabitzer and Fernandes each received nine yellow cards. Overall, Schalke players were cautioned more often than any other team (71), while Hoffenheim made the most fouls (450).