Bayern Munich came from a goal down with ten men against Bochum to win 3-1 and go nine points clear at the top of the table. Werder Bremen got back to winning ways away at Hertha, but Leverkusen’s woes continued with another loss.
Schalke won ahead of their Champions League second leg with Barcelona, while there were also first wins for Nürnberg trainer von Heesen and Bielefeld’s Michael Frontzeck.
Ulreich
Lucio Costa Meira Krstajic
Misimovic Altintop Marcelinho Schweinsteiger
Dejagah Frei
Goalkeeper:
(1) Sven Ulreich (Stuttgart)
The Stuttgart keeper had one of his finest games after coming in to replace Manuel Schäfer. Hamburg were not at their sharpest, but whatever was thrown at him, Ulreich dealt with to keep it tight at the back and help secure a valuable win for the Swabians.
Defenders:
(2) Lucio (Bayern Munich)
Bayern’s Brazilian centre back was on form on Sunday against Bochum as Bayern came from behind to secure an important win. After going a goal down and a man down with van Bommel’s red card, Lucio got Bayern back into the game with a super header. The way he celebrated showed just what winning the title means to him.
(3) Ricardo Costa (Wolfsburg)
Ashkan Dejagah may have taken all the headlines with his attacking display but Portuguese defender Ricardo Costa was highly impressive again at the back despite the ‘Wölfe’ conceding two goals.
(4) Fernando Meira (Stuttgart)
Stuttgart are back amongst the European places and shutting out Hamburg on Saturday went a long way to getting them there. Fernando Meira was imperious against HSV oozing confidence and quality and leading by example.
(5) Mladen Krstajic (Schalke)
The Serb defender showed his class on Saturday against Hansa with an assured performance. Back in the centre of defence alongside regular partner Bordon, he never looked like letting Rostock score at the Veltins Arena.
Midfielders:
(6) Halil Altintop (Schalke)
Caused all sorts of problems for Hansa Rostock with his movement and shots on goal. He was rewarded for his efforts with the only goal of the game, which was also the best goal seen in the Bundesliga this weekend.
(7) Zvejezdan Misimovic (Nürnberg)
Misimovic makes it into the Team of the Week for the second successive week after another fine display against Frankfurt. The midfielder was involved in all three Nürnberg goals, setting up the first two and scoring the third himself.
(8) Marcelinho (Wolfsburg)
Together with team mate Dejagah, Wolfsburg captain Marcelinho ran the game for Felix Magath’s side with his vision and creativity. In this kind of form he will fire Wolfsburg up the table and into a European qualification berth.
(9) Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
A few weeks back Ottmar Hitzfeld said he was done with rotation and that the players would be picked purely on merit and form. Bastian Schweinsteiger is the side at the moment for just that reason and with solid performances like the one on Sunday; he will remain in the side.
Forwards:
(10) Ashkan Dejagah (Wolfsburg)
German U-21 international Dejagah put in a match-winning performance for Wolfsburg as they beat Hannover 3-2 at the Volkswagen Arena. Extremely dangerous offensively and was involved in all three goals. He scored a brace himself and laid on one for Marcelinho.
(11) Alexander Frei (Borussia Dortmund)
On as an early second half substitute for Federico, Frei kept plugging away as Dortmund looked the more dangerous side. He grabbed the all-important equaliser three minutes from time, setting up the home side for a fantastic injury time winner. The Swiss international looks like he is getting back to his best after his injury troubles.
Honourable mentions:
Those that played well but didn’t quite make it into this week’s Team of the Week included:
Diego Benaglio, Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), Per Mertesacker (Werder), Dede (Borussia Dortmund), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich), Mimoun Azaouagh (Bochum) and Pavel Pardo (Stuttgart).
source: goal.com
