Bundesliga Team of the Week: Matchday 22
Waldemar Anton's goal-scoring heroics for Hannover lead him to a remarkable points total, while Hoffenheim's brace-scoring pair of Andrej Kramaric and Adam Szalai lead the line in our Matchday 22 team of the week!
Goalkeeper
Rob-Robert Zieler (VfB Stuttgart, 13 points)
Stuttgart and Germany forward Mario Gomez praised his team for "defending like Atletico Madrid", and it was Ron-Robert Zieler who took a leaf out of the Thibaut Courtois and Jan Oblak book by keeping Borussia Mönchengladbach at bay with some fine saves on Sunday. They say success can only be built on solid foundations, and Stuttgart appear to have got that right with the former Manchester United, Hannover and Leicester City custodian.
Defenders
Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund, 17 points)
No stranger to the team of the week is Dortmund's evergreen Piszczek, who shone on his 284th appearance for the Westphalians on Matchday 22 – as many as Swiss legend Stephane Chapuisat. His defensive work was sublime, with Bobby Wood one player denied by a brave block by the Pole, who was insurmountable once again in Dortmund's 2-0 win over Hamburg.
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Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig, 15 points)
One of the brighest young stars of the Bundesliga scored his first goal in the league on Friday night as part of a perfect performance for the French teenager. Upamecano opened the scoring before leading his team in challenges on their way to victory of Augsburg. This certainly won't be the last time we see the defensive powerhouse in the team of the week.
Marco Russ (Eintracht Frankfurt, 17 points)
With his first goal since recovering from cancer, Marco Russ can now draw a solid line under almost two years of toil and trauma. His header earned Frankfurt the lead for the second time in their 4-2 win over Cologne, helping the Eagles soar to fourth in the Bundesliga and on course for – wait for it – Champions League football next season.
Waldemar Anton (Hannover, 23 points)
The Germany under-21 international's season has gone from strength to strength, so much so it would not be a surprise if Germany coach Joachim Löw's ears had not been pricked by his recent outings. "I've been waiting for this goal for ages," admitted Anton after his maiden Bundesliga strike. So too have his fantasy managers, who were left rubbing their hands in glee at his points-leading performance on Matchday 22.
Peter Pekarik (Hertha Berlin, 16 points)
Pekarik helped get Hertha Berlin on their way to an unexpected 2-0 victory at Bayer Leverkusen with an assist for Valentino Lazaro, finishing off the job with some resolute defending as the hosts inevitably threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Old Lady.
Midfielders
Andre Schürrle (Borussia Dortmund, 13 points)
Certainly one of the main benefactors of Peter Stöger's arrival at Borussia Dortmund and the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had been taking most of the limelight, is Andre Schürrle, who is playing like he has had shackles removed. Confidence is now oozing out of the former Mainz man's game and the return of Marco Reus only seems set to bring even more out of the fleet-footed forward, while his assist for Mario Götze's clincher had a hint of the 2014 World Cup final about it.
Naby Keita (RB Leipzig, 13 points)
Nobody has scored as many goals from outside the penalty area this season as Naby Keita, with his fourth coming in Leipzig's win over Augsburg on Friday night. He also played the first pass in the attack which saw Dayot Upamecano net his first Bundesliga goal. Always at the heart of the action, Leipzig will be keen to get the most out of him before his summer switch to Liverpool.
Florian Kainz (Werder Bremen, 16 points)
If his first goal was not enough, as he played a neat one-two before curling an effort into the far corner of Koen Casteels, his second – which sealed a 3-1 win for Bremen in a survival scrap with Wolfsburg – was just rubbing salt into the wound, as he threaded the ball through the Belgian goalkeeper's legs. His third and fourth goals of the season extended Bremen's unbeaten home record under Florian Kohlfeldt to six matches and earned the northern Germany side a much-needed cushion over the bottom three.
Forwards
Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim, 16 points)
More than five months without a goal; 1042 minutes with nothing to celebrate – an eternity for any forward, even more than that for Andre Kramaric. As so often, though, when that first goal arrives, as it did a week ago against Hertha Berlin, then the floodgates open, and Kramaric added two more against Mainz – including Hoffenheim's 500th in the Bundesliga.
Adam Szalai (Hoffenheim, 18 points)
Following the departure of Sandro Wagner to Bayern Munich this winter, the question was being asked who might supply the goals Hoffenheim need to guide them back into Europe next season. Step forward Adam Szalai. "I'm just pleased to be able to help the team," he said after emerging from Wagner's shadows to net a brace in Hoffenheim's 4-2 win over Mainz. "I try to use every minute I can." Only the crossbar denied him a hat-trick.