Bundesliga 2019/2020 Season Review

The 2019/2020 Bundesliga season has ended albeit in strange circumstances with the global pandemic forcing the season to go on hold for several weeks. Nevertheless, the season was finally completed on June 27th as Bayern Munich become champions for the eighth consecutive year, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach completed the top four as they play in the Champions League next season. Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim will be playing in the Europa League next year while Paderborn and Fortuna Düsseldorf will be playing in 2.Bundesliga as they were relegated while Werder Bremen played in the promotion/relegation playoff and just stayed up against Heidenheim on away goals. This is a review of the just-concluded season and who stood out.

Best Player - Robert Lewandowski



Robert Lewandowski has become one of the greatest goalscorers in Bundesliga history and this season has been his best season yet for Die Bayern. The Polish striker was amazing in 2019/2020, causing havoc over the opposition and as he stated, becoming addicted to scoring goals. He led the attack for Bayern, scoring 34 goals in the Bundesliga, with a goal ratio of 1.11, the best in Europe's top five leagues. He has led the attacking line for Bayern this season with fellow members in crime like Serge Gnarby and Thomas Müller, who has been Lewa's supplier this season. His underlying numbers are also impressive. He overperformed his xG of 27.6 with 1.92 of his shots on target per 90. Following the sacking of Niko Kovaĉ in November, Bayern was 4th and looked like they could lose the Meisterschale this season but the appointment of Hansi Flick has taken Bayern to a level we have not seen since 2013 and Lewandowski is a big reason for that, as the Bavarians scored in all but one league game since Flick's appointment. At 31, he should be slowing down but he has produced his best campaign, showing how indispensable he is to Bayern.


Best Young Player - Alphonso Davies



Honourable mentions go to the likes of Jadon Sancho, Erling Håland and Kai Havertz as they have had great campaigns. This has been a breakout season for the Canadian winger, who has been deputies as a left-back this season with David Alaba playing as a centre-back while Lucas Hernández has missed this season due to injury. Davies scored 3 goals and made 5 assists from left-back, with his pace a key asset for Bayern this season. However, he's more than just pace. Davies won the most tackles in Bayern's squad, as well as winning his tackles in the attacking third enabling a quick transition for Bayern to hit on their opponents. He also won 185 pressures, winning a high percentage of pressures with 101 of them in the attacking third. He has given Bayern a different dimension and with improvement, can only get better. Whether at left-back or left-wing.


Best Transfer - Christopher Nkunku



RB Leipzig had a fine season under Julian Nagelsmann, finishing third with 66 points. Leipzig has been renowned for their smart transfer business and they got another gem in Christopher Nkunku. Signed from Paris Saint-Germain for only €13m, the France U21 international has been a bargain for Die Rotten Bullen, scoring 5 goals and 13 assists with a goal and assist ratio of 0.84. Over-performing his expected goals and assists of 0.76, Timo Werner is the only player in the Leipzig squad that performs better in those metrics. He attempted 97 dribbles with 55 of them being successful. He also made the most touches in the final third after Werner and Sabitzer and made the third-highest pressures in the Leipzig squad. A fine debut season in Germany, Nkunku's role will only increase next season for Leipzig.


Manager of the Season - Hansi Flick



Many people did not who Hansi Flick was when he was appointed as Bayern's intern manager following the sacking of Niko Kovaĉ in November. He was Bayern's number two under Kovaĉ and also part of  Germany's coaching staff with manager Joachim Löw when they won the World Cup in 2014. Now, he has won the Bundesliga with Bayern and has been appointed full time. It would be easy to say that Flick had a fantastic squad but Bayern was under-performing and there was discontent towards Kovaĉ. Flick has made Bayern a winning machine, losing just two of his 32 games in charge scoring a hundred goals in the process. He has changed Bayern's setup with Goreztka and Kimmich the midfield pivot while Pavard and Davies the full-backs as he has handled the injuries to Süle and Hernández quite well, and breathing new life in the likes of Thomas Müller, who has become an elite creator. With Leroy Sané joining the club, Bayern looks to continue their dominance in Germany.


Underrated Story of the Season - Union Berlin



For much of Union Berlin's modern history, they have been in the lower tiers of German football. This season was their first in the German top flight and they had a successful debut campaign finishing 11th with 41 points, ahead of Schalke and Werder Bremen. They won 12 games this season which included a big win over Borussia Dortmund, Gladbach and their city rivals Hertha Berlin. Much credit has to go to their manager Urs Fischer, who guided Union to promotion in his first season and kept them from a relegation dogfight this season. Rafal Gikiewicz was key between the sticks with only Yann Sommer making more saves than the Pole. Neven Subotic marshalled the back while Sebastian Andersson scored 12 goals. A fine debut season for Union but can they prevent a second season syndrome?


The team likely to struggle next season - Schalke 04



Schalke appointed David Wagner following a horrendous 18/19 campaign and it's safe to say that they could struggle again next season. Schalke finished 12th, eight points off the relegation/playoff spot and their form since the resumption doesn't give a good reading. They lost seven of their nine games since the restart with their last win in mid-January against Gladbach. They have found it hard to get the back of the net scoring 38 goals with Paderborn and Düsseldorf scoring less and they were both relegated with Suat Serdar their top scorer with only 7. They underperformed in their expected goals, were fourth-bottom in shot creation and conceded 58 goals as they were expected to concede 50. With Alex Nübel leaving for Bayern and financial troubles, Die Knappen would hope for a big improvement next season or we could see David Wagner lose his job before the end of the year.


Game of the season - Borussia Dortmund 3-3 RB Leipzig (December, 2019)



Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are renowned for their attacking football so it was no surprise that when they met in December at the Westfalonstadion, it was a massive clash in the title race as Leipzig was top of the table at the time. The game was a pulsating affair with Timo Werner scoring a brace and Julian Brandt showing a lovely piece of skill before scoring himself. The game also had some horrible howlers from Gulácsi, Bürki and Brandt while Patrik Schick scored the equalizer to finish a brilliant game that showed the best of the two teams as well as their defensive fragility.