Vote for March's Bundesliga Player of the Month!
Raphael Guerreiro, Jeremie Frimpong, Erhan Masovic, Marius Bülter, Exequiel Palacios or Omar Marmoush? Who will be crowned March Player of the Month?
The Player of the Month award officially recognises outstanding individual performances in the Bundesliga.
The prize, created by the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga in 2018/19 in cooperation with the Bundesliga's official licensing partner, EA Sports, is decided through a two-stage selection process that considers both the players' individual performance data and a vote by fans and experts.
Click here to cast your vote for March's Player of the Month!
Nominees
Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund finally went outright top of the Bundesliga table for the first time this season at the end of March, meaning they go into Der Klassiker against Bayern München with a lead to defend. BVB picked up seven of a possible nine points last month as they remain unbeaten domestically in 2023. Key to that run has been Raphael Guerreiro, who took up a new position on Matchdays 24 and 25. Coach Edin Terzic used the Portugal international in central midfield, allowing him to flourish with two goals and three assists (the most of any player in the division) in his two appearances in March.
Vote now for Raphael Guerreiro!
“We know he can make good decisions in midfield. He always moves into the half-spaces and knows what to do there,” Terzic enthused of the 29-year-old after the 2-2 draw against Schalke in the Revierderby. The coach used the same tactic with Guerreiro at home to Köln with similar devastating effect. His combined three goals and nine assists in 2022/23 make the nominal left-back Dortmund’s most potent attacking outlet in the Bundesliga this season, with almost half of that tally coming in March alone.
Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Jeremie Frimpong has emerged as a key component for Bayer Leverkusen this season and continued his excellent form in March. The right-back got a goal and an assist in the 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin on Matchday 23, before repeating the feat in the 3-2 victory at Werder Bremen. The 22-year-old’s record this season now reads seven scored and six assists – no other Werkself player has been involved in as many goals. “He has a big influence on our game. He’s a very good player, but for me he's a really special player,” gushed coach Xabi Alonso back in November when the Dutchman was called up for the World Cup.
Vote now for Jeremie Frimpong!
Things have in fact been particularly good since Alonso took over at the BayArena, with Leverkusen picking up 32 points from 17 Bundesliga games to go from relegation strugglers to outside European hopefuls. Much of that is down to Frimpong, who plays an important role wide on the right in the Spanish coach’s 3-4-3 system. He was among the most clinical players in the division in March, scoring twice from three efforts on goal that had a combined xG of 0.5. His shot efficiency of +1.5 was the second best across the league over the last three matchdays. And nobody was quicker than him in March with a top speed of 36 km/h.
Bochum are in the midst of an incredibly tight relegation battle yet produced two somewhat unlikely but vital wins in March. The first was a 2-0 win at Köln – just their second on the road this season – before a big upset against RB Leipzig with a 1-0 victory. And among the goals both times was centre-back Erhan Masovic. He settled nerves with the second in Cologne, while his header proved the difference against Die Roten Bullen. It means the Serbia international now has four goals this season – the most of any centre-back in the Bundesliga.
“I can’t say why I’m scoring so many goals. I work hard and am happy I’m in the right place at the right time. I’m pleased I can help the team and hope we get even more points,” a delighted Masovic said after the win over Leipzig. The 24-year-old played every single minute across March and found the back of the net with half of his four efforts over the three matchdays. A shot efficiency of +1.0 places him seventh across the division for March.
Schalke are the first team in Bundesliga history to sit bottom of the table at the midpoint of a season and then go unbeaten in their first eight Rückrunde fixtures. And the Royal Blues owe much of that record to Marius Bülter, who chipped in with three goals and an assist in March. The 29-year-old has now equalled his Bundesliga personal best with seven goals this season, with four of those coming in the final 15 minutes of games. “We’re pleased we can now score goals again,” said Schalke coach Thomas Reis after Bülter’s back-heel finish against VfB Stuttgart in February, before joking: “It’s somewhat indicative [of the change in form]. Three weeks ago, he probably would’ve broken his ankle.”
No player scored more goals in the Bundesliga last month than Bülter (three). He also provided a vital assist to earn a Revierderby draw against Borussia Dortmund. It meant the forward was directly involved in four of Schalke’s five goals over the last three matchdays. Only Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro contributed more goals across the division in that time. The Royal Blues’ main man doubled his personal goal involvement tally from four to eight (seven scored, one assist) in March alone.
Exequiel Palacios (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Bayer Leverkusen produced a huge result on Matchday 25 as they beat Bayern München 2-1 to make it three wins on the spin in the Bundesliga. The match-winner was Exequiel Palacios, who coolly converted two penalties in the second half. That took his tally for the campaign to three, surpassing his previous personal best of two from last season. The last Leverkusen player to bag a brace of penalties in the Bundesliga was Dimitar Berbatov on 1 April 2006 against Kaiserslautern. The Argentinian World Cup winner had also provided an assist in the 3-2 win at Werder Bremen the previous week.
Vote now for Exequiel Palacios!
“Xabi Alonso backs me in a lot of games. It makes me proud that the coach gives me that faith. When I get to play, I want to repay that with performances, goals and good games,” Palacios had said following the UEFA Europa League success over Monaco, in which he also scored a goal. The 24-year-old played every single minute in the Bundesliga in March, while his two goals and an assist was only beaten by Jeremie Frimpong in the club’s charts over the past month.
Wolfsburg are once again back in the hunt for Europe after a four-game unbeaten run. Their form man in March was Omar Marmoush, who bagged two goals last month. The Egypt international now has five for the campaign to set a new personal best in the German top flight. He got the first three Bundesliga goals of his career playing for VfB Stuttgart last season. He returned to haunt them on Matchday 25 of this term with the decisive goal in a 1-0 win.
“When he understands that he needs to attack the space with his speed and shooting, then he can be a really good player,” explained Wolfsburg head coach Niko Kovac. Marmoush started all three Bundesliga games in March, only failing to complete one of them, and scored two of his club’s four goals over the three matchdays. The 24-year-old also fired off the most shots among Wolves players (10) – only three players had more across the whole division.
Previous winners
Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund, February 2023)
Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund, January 2023)
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