Bundesliga Team of the Week: Matchday 15
There was no shortage of drama on Matchday 15 as Bayern Munich secured top spot for Christmas, Bayer Leverkusen continued their impressive form and Freiburg produced one of the most memorable comebacks in recent times. Find out who made it into this week’s Official Fantasy Team of the Week below!
Goalkeeper
Philipp Tschauner (Hannover, 13 points)
Hannover ended their run of four league games without a win at a snowy HDI Arena on Sunday, but the Reds had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping the visitors at bay in Lower Saxony. Serge Gnabry and Lukas Rupp both had goal-bound efforts saved by the 32-year-old stopper, who also kept out Benjamin Hübner’s late header to help Andre Breitenreiter’s side secure their fifth clean sheet of the season.
Theodor Gebre Selassie (Werder Bremen, 15 points)
Even the most optimistic of Werder supporters would not have expected the Green-Whites’ first away victory of the season to come at the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, and even fewer would have predicted that Gebre Selassie would net the winning goal! The tireless Czech Republic international was in the right place at the right time to thump a header past Roman Bürki to lift Bremen to within a single point of outright safety.
Watch: Gebre Selassie on Werder's 2-1 victory over Dortmund
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Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich, 14 points)
The summer arrival of Niklas Süle coupled with a niggling thigh injury has restricted Boateng’s playing time this season, but when the 29-year-old is in this kind of form you’d be hard pressed to find a better centre-back on the planet! The league leaders came under intense pressure at the Commerzbank Arena and may have been forced to settle for a share of the spoils were it not for Boateng, who won more challenges (15) than anyone else on the pitch, including against his older brother Kevin-Prince.
Midfielders
Yoric Ravet (Freiburg, 20 points)
Nils Petersen may have grabbed the headlines with his hat-trick in Freiburg’s astonishing 4-3 win at fellow strugglers Cologne, but Ravet played an integral role in the visitors’ memorable Matchday 15 comeback. Ravet was directly involved in 12 of Freiburg’s 24 attempts at the RheinEnergieSTADION, teeing up Petersen and Janik Haberer for SCF’s first two goals.
Robin Quaison (Mainz, 12 points)
Quaison has made just three appearances for the Zerofivers since Matchday 4, but the 24-year-old Swede came up trumps for Sandro Schwarz’s team at RB Leipzig, netting the visitors' opening goal in a 2-2 draw against last season’s runners-up. An attacking midfielder by trade, Quaison started up front against Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday and, after bagging his first goal of the campaign, it will take a brave man to leave him out of the starting XI at home to Dortmund on Tuesday.
Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen, 15 points)
Stuttgart have proved a tough nut to crack on their own patch this season, but Leverkusen were worthy winners at the Mercedes-Benz Arena after a performance that oozed class from every position. Teenage sensation Havertz opened the scoring for Die Werkself in the first half before showing his defensive qualities in the second, winning more duels than any other player on the pitch. It doesn't take a genius to work out why Havertz hasn’t missed a single minute of action for Leverkusen since Matchday 10!
Forwards
Niclas Füllkrug (Hannover, 13 points)
There was little to choose between the Hannover and Hoffenheim until Füllkrug notched his fourth goal of the season to set the Reds on their way to a priceless victory over Julian Nagelsmann’s side. This was the first time this season that the former Greuther Fürth man has found the net after being named in Breitenreiter’s starting XI, but was it enough to earn a place in the 96ers' team at Hertha on Wednesday?
Nils Petersen (Freiburg, 24 points)
Petersen was the coolest man inside the RheinEnergieSTADION on Sunday, converting not one but TWO late penalties to complete Freiburg’s miraculous comeback against the Billy Goats. It was the 29-year-old’s first Bundesliga treble since January 2015, and his first away from home in the top flight. He’s known as the most lethal supersub in the division, but Peterson is more than capable of producing the goods when named in the starting XI.
Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen, 16 points)
Bailey was a constant thorn in Stuttgart’s side in Friday’s Matchday 15 opener, his pace and trickery proving too hot to handle for the Swabians. The Jamaican did brilliantly to tee up Havertz for the game’s opening goal before crossing for Lars Bender to seal the points late on, helping Die Werkself climb into the top four - albeit temporarily - for the first time this season. If Bailey can maintain this type of form, Leverkusen will take some stopping.
Watch: Bailey: "Our coach told us we'd win!"