As September gives way to October and Autumn starts to make its presence felt, it is time to hand out the second Bundesliga Fanatic Player and Goal of the Month awards of the season. With four matchdays to cast an eye over, there was no shortage of deserving candidates in both categories. So, who caught the eye the most in September?
Player of the Month: Niclas Füllkrug (Werder Bremen)
With Robert Lewandowski sold to Barcelona, it had been presumed that the likes of Patrik Schick, Timo Werner or Anthony Modeste might take over the mantle as the Bundesliga’s top goal scorer, but thus far the man leading the way is Werder Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug (one ahead of August’s Player of the Month Sheraldo Becker).
Füllkrug scored a brace against VfL Bochum on matchday 5 to help steer Werder to a win right at the death when it seemed the hosts were going to snatch the points. Minutes after Philipp Hofmann saw his effort ruled out, the Werder striker headed in Mitchell Weiser’s cross to seal the win for the Grün-Weißen. He then added a penalty in stoppage time to add extra gloss.
His assist on matchday 7 set up Milos Veljkovic for the equaliser that saw Bremen take a draw from the Bay Arena and he was back on the scoring trail on matchday 8 with a brace against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Werder’s stunning 5-1 win at the Weser Stadion.
As the top scoring German and because of his style of play, there have been whispers (growing steadily into open calls) for him to be an inclusion in Hansi Flick’s World Cup squad in light of Germany’s difficulties in the goal scoring department of late.
‘Lücke’ is a good shout for inclusion, but it would be a huge surprise should he actually get the call to go to Qatar. As it is, he can make do for starters with being named our Player of the Month for September.
Honourable mentions:
Rafal Gikiewicz very nearly became a rare goalkeeper to win the Player of the Month award after some heroic displays in September. His penalty save against Werder Bremen saved the three points for Augsburg, while he was also key to the Fuggerstädter’s win over Bayern with some vital saves.
Jamal Musiala has continued to impress at Bayern, even during their mini slump, while Mats Hummels has played consistently well at Dortmund. Daichi Kamada turned on the style for Eintracht Frankfurt this month with Florian Kainz at Köln also being a key man for his side.
Goal of the Month: Domimik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig)
Sometimes when you see a goal, you instantly think to yourself ‘Goal of the Month contender.’ In the case of Dominik Szoboszlai’s strike against Borussia Dortmund on matchday 6 it wasn’t so much a contender, but a shoo-in.
With his side 1-0 up, picking up the ball and advancing just before half-time, he saw few options ahead of him so unleashed a right-foot shot that flew like a rocket into the top corner past keeper Alexander Meyer. Even if Gregor Köbel had been in goal alongside him, it’s hard to believe it would have been kept out.
Honourable mentions:
In terms of team build-up play Eintracht Frankfurt’s first against RB Leipzig on matchday 5 finished off by Daichi Kamada takes some beating. Jamal Musiala’s dancing feet on matchday 6 set up a nice goal against Stuttgart, while Kerem Demirbay’s freekick against Hertha on the same day was exquisite as was his curled finish against Werder Bremen on matchday 7.
Sheraldo Becker’s control and finish against Wolfsburg was top notch, and Köln’s Austrian midfielder Dejan Ljubicic produced a fine finish for his goal against Dortmund on matchday 8. With so many to choose from rewatching the September goals was a real treat for the eyes.
