Bayern Munich star leads way in Bundesliga Team of the Week
It’s been quite a season for Thiago Alcantara at Bayern Munich. Despite being the ideal player for Pep Guardiola, the Spain international has actually taken his game to a new level under Carlo Ancelotti this season. Statistically speaking, only Lionel Messi (8.27 rating) and Neymar (8.45) have been better than Thiago (8.20).
The 25-year-old, unsurprisingly, also finished gameweek 24 in the Bundesliga as the highest rated player (9.43) as Bayern extended their lead at the top of the table to 10 points following a 3-0 win against Frankfurt.
Thiago amassed a staggering 141 touches, at least 34 more than any other player in the match, and also completed 11 interceptions, as well as three tackles and three dribbles.
In fact, only on one occasion (Saed Kolasinac – 12 vs Hamburg) has a player completed more interceptions in a Bundesliga match than Thiago’s feat at home to Frankfurt on Saturday.
Breaking up play wasn’t what Thiago previously excelled at but it’s part of his game that has improved dramatically this season. In fact, an average of 4.7 interceptions per game is the best in Europe’s top five leagues this season, while he has already completed more than double the amount of interceptions he has previously ever made in a league campaign and there are still 12 games remaining.
For more stats on Thiago Alcantara, click here to visit his WhoScored player page