German Football: Bundeliga 2016-17 season review

Bundesliga 2016/2017 Review – Bayern Reign Supreme

LAHM AND ALONSO LEAVE ON A HIGH
Bayern Munich captain Phillip Lahm, and Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso, both announced their retirement from football would be at the end of the season, adding extra incentive for the title to stay in Munich. Bayern were in the top 2 from the very start of the season, losing only twice in 34 matches and scoring 89 goals, 30 of which came courtesy of striker Robert Lewandowski. They finished 15 points ahead of newly-promoted RB Leipzig, who defied all odds to qualify for the Champions League in just their first season ever in the top flight. Borussia Dortmund made up for an underwhelming season with victory in the German Cup, but there will be plenty of improvement needed for manager Thomas Tuchel’s side if they are to challenge Bayern and Leipzig next season.

STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT FOR GERMAN CHAMPS
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Bayern. They were beaten 6-3 on aggregate by Real Madrid in the Champions League, and were knocked out in the semi-finals of the German Cup by Dortmund. Several key players had poor seasons, attacking midfielder Thomas Muller being the biggest example. Muller had previously led the line for Bayern scoring 30+ goals a season, yet scored only 5 in 25 appearances which led to him being dropped. Bayern were criticised several times for lacklustre or boring displays, but still managed to grind out victories and their overall victory never looked in doubt, ever since their thumping 6-0 win over Werder Bremen on the very first day of the season.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Hoffenheim, FC Koln and Hertha Berlin all exceeded expectations to qualify for the Champions League and Europa League respectively, but their qualification was aided by several big clubs performing below par for much of the season. Bayer Leverkusen, who reached the Champions League knockout stage, were unable to turn big spending into results as they slumped from 3rd to 12th in a single season. But the big losers were Wolfsburg, whose fall from grace could send them down into the division below, after the former Champions League quarter-finalists and Bundesliga champions finished a lowly 16th,only remaining in the top division after scraping through a relegation play-off. Fans of Ingolstadt and Darmstadt will be glad the season has finally come to an end, with both clubs experiencing nightmarish campaigns that left both clubs stranded in the relegation zone for most of the season. Ingolstadt staged a mini comeback in March but neither side could avoid the inevitable and both were automatically relegated before the last game of the season.

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