At first look, the 2022–23 Bundesliga appeared to be doing business as usual, with Bayern earning their 11th straight league championship. But the Bavarians would benefit greatly if it were that easy. Following their final-day blunder at home to Mainz, Bayern won the Bundesliga on goal differential against Borussia Dortmund. The outcome might have been completely different, but sadly, Bayern won once more. Union Berlin and Freiburg competed against one another to become the first teams to ever qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Union won on the last day, joining RB Leipzig in the top four, while Hertha went down a division alongside heavyweights Schalke.
GK - Gregor Kobel
The Swiss goalkeeper has had an outstanding year and provides a secure pair of hands at the back to aid Dortmund's championship defense. Nobody who supports Dortmund will hold it against him for making a rare and extremely unlucky mistake in the defeat to Bayern Munich in the title-race Klassiker in April. Kobel has made every effort during the season, succeeding in many one-on-ones, controlling his penalty area, and demonstrating his ability to produce with the ball at his feet as well. He deserves a spot on the Season's Team wholeheartedly.
LB - Raphael Guerreiro
Borussia Dortmund's impressive rise in form after the winter break allowed them to come dangerously close to breaking Bayern's Bundesliga stranglehold. Dortmund won the most games (46) and scored the most goals (58) in the Bundesliga in 2023, while offensive full-back superstar Raphael Guerreiro led all players with 13 goals and assists in the league since the start of the year.
RB - Jeremy Frimpong
For a large portion of the season, Frimpong played as an attacking wing-back, terrorizing rival defenses with his breakneck speed and breathtaking talent. The 22-year-old's involvement in 15 goals (8 goals, 7 assists) is impressive.
CB - Matthias Ginter
His decision to leave Borussia Mönchengladbach and join his hometown team SC Freiburg in the summer of 2022 generated some questions. After just over a year, nobody is still debating Ginter's decision because Freiburg just finished their best-ever Bundesliga season (59 points) in the three-points-per-win era.
CB - Matthijs De Ligt
It took the Dutch centre-back a little bit to establish himself as Bayern Munich's regular starter, but the 23-year-old has started all but one Bundesliga game since the winter break. He boasts the second-best challenge-winning percentage among all Bayern players, after Benjamin Pavard, at 61 per cent. He also has a keen eye for goals. He has contributed with significant goals in the championship fight, most notably his long-range efforts in the 2-1 win at Stuttgart and the 1-0 triumph at Freiburg. His three goals are a very healthy product for a center defender.
CM - Julian Brandt
For Dortmund, the offensive midfielder has had his best season ever. With just three games remaining in 2022–23, he has shown he is equally skilled at both scoring and providing assists. The 28-year-old has eight of each with eight games remaining. In Dortmund's outstanding collection of offensive skills, Brandt has been involved in more goals than any other player. He has made a significant contribution to the Black and Yellow's surge of form following the winter break that has put them right in the thick of a title race thanks to his running prowess, energy, and habit of finding space.
CM - Jude Bellingham
Bellingham, who won the Bundesliga's Player of the Season award, had his greatest and likely final season in the country's top division; the 19-year-old is expected to move on in the summer. Bellingham led Dortmund with eight goals and five assists, displaying brilliant individual talent and an inspiring spirit.
AM - Jamal Musiala
Musiala was perhaps the finest player in the Bundesliga throughout the first half of the season. When at his best, he is virtually hard to defend. He can still look back on an excellent season in which he contributed 13 assists and scored 12 goals, including Bayern's title-winning goal against FC Köln, even though he has failed to keep up that form after the turn of the year.
RW - Moussa Diaby
Under Xabi Alonso, the Frenchman has been a crucial cog in Leverkusen's comeback. Only Davies and Adeyemi have surpassed his season-high best speed of 36.52 km/h. In the Team of the Season, he reunites with Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen to reenact the ideal offensive combination down the right. This season, Diaby has scored nine goals and assisted on another eight. He ranks sixth overall in the league with more goal involvements than any other player at the Werkself.
Striker - Niclas Fullkrug
Niclas Füllkrug of Werder Bremen, a promoted side whose primary goal was to escape relegation, was one of the season's top scorers. They succeeded in doing this and more because of Füllkrug's outstanding marketing. With 16 goals in 28 games, he was named the league's top scorer and became the first Bremen player to win the "Torjägerkanone" since Miroslav Klose did it 17 years prior (25 goals in 2005–06).
LW - Kolo Muani
Since signing on a free transfer from Nantes last summer, the 24-year-old Frenchman has outperformed expectations, helping to provide 29 goals (15 goals, 14 assists) in his first season in the Bundesliga.
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