In Simon Rolfes, the Bundesliga and its partner AWS have an expert who knows the Bundesliga from A to Z. Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Sporting Director, Rolfes wore Die Werkself's colours 288 times between 2005 and 2015, and represented Germany on 26 occasions. Rolfes is the ideal man to write a regular column for the 'Bundesliga Match Facts Zone' on bundesliga.com, analysing current trends and giving unique insight on the Bundesliga Match Facts.

This week, Simon Rolfes takes a look at Bayern Munich's title-winning campaign from the perspective of the Bundesliga Match Facts powered by AWS:  xG, Most Pressed Player, Speed Alert and Attacking Zones.

By Simon Rolfes

Even though it seemed at times like Bayern could face a serious challenge for the title this season, Hansi Flick's team have once again emerged triumphant, winning a record-breaking ninth straight title. Congratulations also from me for such an achievement! And just to prove how much Bayern deserved the title, the Bundesliga Match Facts powered by AWS are here to help.

xG: Bayern streets ahead

The clearest illustration of the gulf between Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga can be seen through xG. Based on the goalscoring probability of their shots, Bayern would have been expected to have scored 66.3 goals after 32 matchdays. Instead, they have 92 goals, which equates to 25 more than their xG calculation. Compare that with VfL Wolfsburg, who are second in this particular classification: they scored 'only' eight goals more than their xG. Basically, Bayern's attack are merciless in front of their opponents' goal, not only converting their best chances, but also taking many of those from less promising positions.

Watch: xG - an explainer

It is hardly surprising that Robert Lewandowski has made a major contribution to this. His 39 goals this season have not all been laid on a plate for him. Quite the opposite! According to xG, he would have been expected to have scored only 24.5 goals this season, meaning he has scored almost 15 more than expected. Once again, a comparison with his rivals shows how far ahead Lewandowski is in this category, with Stuttgart's Sasa Kalajdzic and Frankfurt's Andre Silva following with 'only' six goals more than xG.

Most Pressed Player: Müller and Kimmich deliver under pressure

You don't win the league just with Lewandowski, though. The Pole is, like every other striker, reliant on the service from his teammates, and this is where Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich have been particularly helpful figures. With 17 assists, Müller is the league leader in this statistic, with Kimmich fourth on 10.

- DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga

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What is particularly interesting here is that Müller and Kimmich were frequently Bayern's 'Most Pressed Player' (Müller in nine games, Kimmich in seven), which means they were the players most often placed under significant pressure by their opponents. Since they are often in dangerous areas and tend to have a lot of the possession, opponents focus on them when pressing. At times, Kimmich was even given a so-called special observer, a man-marker who would try to prevent him from delivering those deadly balls from deep. For them both to be able to deliver so many assists, in spite of this pressure, and also score so many goals themselves underlines the extraordinary quality they both possess.

Speed Alert: Davies, Coman and Sane leading the way

While Kimmich and Müller attack largely down the middle, Bayern also have significant strength down the wings. On the left-hand side, full-back Alphonso Davies and Kingsley Coman almost race each other to post the quickest speeds, with Davies hitting 35.9km/h, making him the third-fastest in the league, and Coman reaching 22.2 mph (35.7 km/h) – enough for fifth place. On the other side, they have Leroy Sane (21.9 mph / 35.3km/h) among the 22 Bundesliga players who have broken through the 21.75mph (35km/h) barrier this season.

Alphonso Davies has been clocked as one of the quickest players in the Bundesliga this season. - DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga

Attacking Zones: Bayern difficult to fathom

With such quick players, it is only logical that Bayern's attacks this season have largely come down the wing. In 72 per cent of cases, Hansi Flick's men entered the attacking third via one of the wings. Yet while other clubs such as Gladbach, Frankfurt or Stuttgart often favoured one particular wing, with differences of up to eight per cent from one wing to the other, Bayern's attacks are much more evenly spread, with a difference of just two per cent, making them even more difficult to fathom.

To summarise, then, the Bundesliga Match Facts analysis shows above all the attacking quality of this Bayern team in 2020/21, with an extraordinary efficiency in front of goal, personified by Robert Lewandowski, and fantastic support players, who are able to provide assists even under huge pressure. Add to this the quickest wingers in the league and you can see why Bayern even afforded themselves the luxury of conceding more goals than usual, without jeopardising their firm grip on yet another title.

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