In one of the best performances you will see this campaign, Coutinho scored a hat-trick and set-up two more goals as Bayern beat Werder Bremen 6-1. The three goals were all magnificent, while one assist in particular for Robert Lewandowski was sublime as he lofted a left-footed ball over the top of the opposition defence. For his first goal, he was in the right place at the right time to turn home a cross from Serge Gnabry. His second saw him run in behind the Bremen backline to lob a cheeky finish up and over the oncoming goalkeeper. The hat-trick goal was the best of the bunch, though, and it was vintage Coutinho as he cut inside on his cultured right foot from the left wing to whip a cracking strike high into the stanchion of the top right corner.
While Coutinho will grab most of the headlines, Lewandowski deserves credit for his outing as he scored two of the goals in the emphatic Bayern win. For his first, which came in injury time in the first period, he ran through on goal thanks to the aforementioned glorious pass from his Brazilian team-mate before squeezing a finish beyond the keeper into the bottom corner. To make it 4-1 in the second half, he exchanged a one-two with Thomas Muller on the edge of the area which saw him collect the ball back at the far post, allowing him to control and sidefoot a strike back across goal into the far corner.
Halstenberg contributed both in attack and defence for Leipzig as they comfortably defeated Dusseldorf 3-0 away from home. He helped his side keep a clean sheet by winning 9/12 duels, 5/5 aerial duels, and 100% of his tackles, as well as making eigh ball recoveries and one interception. Going forward he was excellent, too, as he successfully sent eight crosses into the area overlapping from left-back, while his pass completion of 90% aided his team in controlling proceedings.
Niederlechner was at his unselfish best this weekend as he recorded a hat-trick of assists in Augsburg's impressive 4-2 awin away at Hoffenheim. To help open the scoring for the visitors, he broke down the right channel and into the final third before squaring a pass sideways for Philipp Max. His next assist was the best of the lot as he collected possession on the halfway line before turning sharply and and sliding a perfectly-weighted through-pass for Fredrik Jensen to poke a finish home. To make it 4-2 and take the game beyond Hoffenheim, he sped down the left wing this time at pace before fizzing a left-footed pass along the box for Iago Borduchi.
Sancho continued his excellent recent form by scoring one and setting up another for Dortmund in the comfortable 4-0 win against Mainz. With the visitors already leading 1-0, he made it two 66 minutes in by holding his position at the edge of the box before turning a strike to the far corner, with the goalkeeper allowing it past a bit too easily. His assist came for Nico Schulz with six minutes remaining after he received the ball to feet before evading the defender with a nice pirouette to lay into the path of his team-mate.
HONOURABLE MENTION
Marco Reus (8.7) was also impressive for BVB as he scored one and set up another, also. His goal was the opener of the match, and it was a belter as he slammed a bouncing strike into the bottom corner after a clearance. His assist was for Thorgan Hazard, who found the top corner with a high, fizzing strike into the top left corner.
ROUND TO FORGET
Milos Veljkovic (5.1) was hapless for Bremen as they were destroyed by Bayern, doing nothing to prevent six goals as well as winning just one tackle the entire match.
