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Over the course of the 2021-22 season, Bundesliga players and teams have constantly surprised us with moments of brilliance. From unbelievable goals to incredible speed or skills, Bundesliga Match Facts Powered by AWS captured all the data. Find out who shone this year, from the Bundesliga’s sharpest shooter to the toughest ball winner.
The Bundesliga was the first football league to utilise real-time advanced statistics and match analysis tools for the benefit of clubs, broadcasters and the global fanbase. Leveraging AWS’ wide array of cloud services, including machine learning and analytics,
Throughout the 2021-22 season, the 10 Bundesliga Match Facts have helped fans to better understand the flow of the game, providing deeper insights into how each match is evolving. We highlight some of the top performers below.
Bayern top the “Expected Goals” charts
FC Bayern München not only scored the most goals league-wide in 2021-22 (97), but were also the leader in terms of Expected Goals – or xG (96.4). Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund were the most efficient team in front of goal, having exceeded their xG value of 67.1 to score a total of 85 goals this season.
Additionally, Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski took the xG crown for players (34.4 xG; 35 goals). In terms of shot efficiency, however, that honour went to Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick, who finished the season with 24 goals, 5.5 more than his 18.5 xG rating.
Moussa Diaby leads the Bundesliga’s “Skill” players
Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby was the only Bundesliga player to rank in the top 10 across three categories at the end of the 2021-22 season (“Sprinter”, “Finisher” and “Initiator”).
Bayern were well represented across the top 10 of the 4 “Skill” attributes measured. In total, Bayern players were accountable for nine of the top 40 positions, with seven Bayern players making the list (Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano).
Gnabry (“Finisher” and “Initiator”), and Sane (“Sprinter”, “Initiator”) both finished in the top 10 of two categories. Erling Haaland (“Sprinter”, “Finisher”) and Christopher Nkunku (“Finisher”, “Initiator”) were also included in two separate categories.
SC Freiburg defender Nico Schlotterbeck came out on top as the Bundesliga’s top “Ball Winner”, finishing sixth in both duels (394) and aerial duels (128).
“Raumdeuter” Thomas Müller led all “Initiators” during the 2021-22 season, creating more opportunities for others – primarily Lewandowski – to score through assists and second assists. Unsurprisingly, it was Lewandowski that ended the season top of the “Finisher” standings, too.
The Bundesliga’s fastest players
Mainz 05’s Jeremiah St. Juste was the fastest man in the Bundesliga this season, with a top speed of 36.6 km/h on matchday 7 against Union Berlin, setting a new league record since data collection began (2011)!
However, it was Bayern’s Alphonso Davies who came out on top in the “Skill” category “Sprinter”, having consistently proved his pace throughout the season.
Bayern and Gladbach highlighted for Passing Efficiency
FC Bayern München had the best pass completion rate of any team in the Bundesliga over the course of the 2021-22 season (87.3%) and were also top of the Pass Efficiency standings (+277.4).
Individually, it was Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi who came out on top, posting a pass completion rate of 94.89%.
Jude Bellingham is the Bundesliga’s Most Pressed Player
Over the course of the season, Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham was the Most Pressed Player. Throughout 34 matchdays, Bellingham came under 1,179 pressures, more than Joshua Kimmich and Wataru Endo, who finished second and third, respectively.
Stuttgart and Bayern the most dangerous after set-pieces
VFB Stuttgart and FC Bayern München came out on top in one of the most recent Bundesliga Match Facts added to the offering. Stuttgart had the highest threat of scoring after a corner situation – 30% more than the average Bundesliga team.
Meanwhile, it was Bayern that remained the most dangerous after free-kicks, 77% more so than the average Bundesliga club!
