Spring has only just sprung, yet Bayern Munich are celebrating their 24th Bundesliga title. Pep Guardiola’s side secured domestic glory with a routine 3-1 away win over Hertha Berlin as goals from Toni Kroos, Mario Götze and Franck Ribéry cemented their place at the summit of Germany’s top tier, not that there was any chance of them being usurped.
In 27 league games this season, Bayern have dropped points just twice, those coming in draws against Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen. Tuesday’s win means they have won each of their last 19 games, the longest run of its kind in Europe’s top 5 leagues and none will question that they are presently the best club team in the world. Their average WhoScored rating (7.4) is the highest in the Europe's big 5 divisions, while the German outfit are scoring more goals per game (2.93) than any other team.
Now that the Bundesliga is wrapped up, Bayern can focus their efforts on replicating last season’s exploits, with Guardiola’s side more than capable of becoming the first team to defend the Champions League since its 1992 inception.
Compared to every league team on the continent this season, Bayern are averaging the most possession (71.5%), while the 82% they enjoyed against Hertha was the most in a single league match in the top 5 European leagues this term. Spending so much time on the ball means only Cardiff (16.2) are making fewer tackles per games than them (16.8), while only Chelsea (9.8) and Sunderland (10.1) are averaging fewer interceptions than Bayern (10.6) this term.
This aspect of their game has seen them develop a style of play of ‘possession football’ as Guardiola continues to mould the champions in his vision, similarly to that of Barcelona between 2008 and 2012.
His team would regularly control games with ease, while the quality running through the squad would allow them to maximise their time on the ball and it’s the same with Bayern. Focusing on the the impressive possesion stats, this has largely been down to Philipp Lahm’s move into midfield. While some questioned Guardiola’s decision to field the world’s best full-back in the middle of the park, Lahm has excelled in the role.
In his 17 league starts in central midfield, Lahm has earned an average rating of 7.2, while only Kroos' pass success (91.8%) is fractionally better than Lahm's (91.8%) of every player with at least 5 league appearances in the middle of the park this campaign. The win over Hertha on Tuesday epitomised the player that Lahm is becoming. Once again, Guardiola had him anchor the midfield and the club captain slotted in seamlessly, completing all of his 134 attempted passes in the title confirming victory, the most of every player in a match with an 100% pass success in Europe’s top 5 leagues in the last 5 seasons.
Should he be without Lahm, Guardiola is able to call upon Javi Martínez, Bastian Schweinsteiger or Kroos to operate in the role in front of the back four. With the personnel available to the Bayern boss, it’s little shock in that case that the Bavarians are conceding the fewest shots per game (8.7) in Europe, and on the rare occasion they do, opponents struggle to find a way past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Neuer has kept 14 clean sheets this season, the most in the Bundesliga, while his average rating (7.08) is currently the fourth highest of every regular goalkeeper in Germany’s top tier. With a solid foundation to call on, Bayern unsurprsingly have conceded the fewest goals (13) in Europe.
While Lahm has contributed massively to the defensive side of their game, higher up the pitch Kroos has performed admirably for Bayern this term. The midfielder's quality on the ball means that no player has attempted more passes in a single league match than Kroos did against Hertha (158) in Europe’s big 5 divisions. This follows up from the 152 he attempted in the 5-1 thumping of Schalke at the beginning of March, highlighting why he has gained strengths of 'passing' and 'key passes'.
However, Kroos is just one of the options Guardiola has to choose from in the attacking quartet behind the frontman. Thomas Müller, Thiago Alcántara, Xherdan Shaqiri and Götze are all more than capable of performing in the role, while Ribéry, Arjen Robben, Müller and Shaqiri provide the width in the starting XI.
With Mario Mandzukic also in prolific form - the Croat has scored the most goals (17) in the Bundesliga this season - Bayern are without question the perfect footballing machine at present. The impending arrival of Robert Lewandowski from rivals Borussia Dortmund will significantly bolster the ranks and help them go from strength-to-strength.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Bayern are worthy champions of the Bundesliga. The quality in depth enables them to continuously battle on all fronts and now they have the title sewn up, they can focus their efforts on the Champions League and DFB-Pokal.
Football connoisseurs wondered how the team could improve following the impressive campaign under Jupp Heynckes, but Guardiola has bettered the domestic exploits of his predecessor as Bayern continue to overpower all of those before them.
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