Bundesliga midseason review: Will Bayern Munich surge just in time?

Borussia Dortmund have set the pace during the first half of the season, but it’s far too soon to rule out Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga dominance could very well come to an end this season. After a sluggish start, the Bavarian giants lost ground to a pair of Borussia’s (Dortmund and Monchengladbach), while the likes of RB Leipzig and Schalke failed to live up to preseason expectations.

The problem with the German league over the past few years has been Bayern’s ability, no matter how badly they started, to surge at the right time and dominate the competition. That usually resulted in no title race by February and only the remaining three Champions League and relegation spots to focus on.

Not so much this year. BVB have set the pace this season, but it remains to be seen whether they can run away with the title in the same way Bayern often have. BVB certainly have the players to do it (they have for the past few years), but a surprise Monchegladbach side have proven a formidable opponent thus far. Bayern and Leipzig have traded places in the top four. While a Bayern surge could still occur, they may want to focus instead on trying to win the Champions League.

There have been some surprises at either end of the table (Gladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt in the top half, Schalke and Stuttgart in the bottom half) as the top four and relegation fight remain relatively wide open for Bundesliga standards.

As the German top flight enters the monthlong winter break, here’s a look at some of the good (and the bad) to emerge during the first half of this season.

Best player: Paco Alcacer (Borussia Dortmund)

If you had to name a player before the start of the season who would dominate offensively, Paco Alcacer would likely not have been one of them. The Dortmund striker has emerged seemingly out of nowhere, leading the team in scoring and tallying some very impressive goals over the past few months.

The Spanish-born striker hasn’t just scored goals; he broke a league record to become the first player in history to score 10 goals as a substitute in a single season. And it took him just 16 games to do it. The 25-year-old joined Dortmund from Barcelona this past summer on a season-long loan. Again, he went from benchwarmer to clutch player in a very short span of time. He’s also a big reason why BVB are contending for the title.

Best manager: Lucien Favre (Borussia Dortmund)

BVB sweep the individual awards with Lucien Favre as the best manager of the first half of the season. Whether BVB can create enough distance at the top to take this thing remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt Favre has been instrumental in his team’s success.

After all, managers are blamed all the time for losses. You have to give Favre credit for the effective way he’s deployed the backline and used Alcacer off the bench. This is the same man that effectively coached Mario Balotelli at French side Nice and has Bundesliga pedigree given his past with Hertha Berlin and Gladbach. Favre has favored the 4-3-3 and it’s just what BVB needed this season to generate more offense while shoring up the defense.

He also favors younger players and that’s also helped this team. It also explains why Christian Pulisic, Jadon Sancho and Jacob Bruun Larsen have become such key contributors. In midfield, Axel Witsel has started nearly every game and he’s brought stability in that part of the field. In attack, moving Marco Reus from the left flank to the center has also helped make BVB a title contender.

Biggest surprise: Borussia Monchengladbach

After finishing ninth last season and just out of an Europa League spot, Borussia Monchengladbach have been on fire this season. It’s the reason why this club skyrocketed into the top four early on and has remained steady there throughout the first half of the season.

The big questions for them are whether they can sustain such momentum and whether their bench is deep enough. Injuries to starters like Matthias Ginter, Christoph Kramer, Lars Stindl, Rafael and Julio Villalba right before the winter break don’t bode well. The good thing is there is the January transfer window to remedy some of these issues and a few weeks off to heal.

Being consistent is what matters most here. Big slip-ups, like a 2-0 defeat to RB Leipzig and a goalless draw against Hoffenheim, forced the loss of some points along the way. Otherwise, this is a team that could have been a lot closer to BVB in the title race. They also have Bayern fast on their heels. Still with plenty to prove, Gladbach will be interesting to watch in the coming months.

Biggest disappointment: Schalke

The Gelsenkirchen-based club have had a huge fall from grace this season. Lauded last season for finishing a distant second to Bayern, the club find themselves in a relegation battle.

Although the team have drawn interest from Americans because of strikers Haji Wright and Weston McKinnie, there’s really little reason to watch them. They have been inconsistent in the league, while somehow reaching the round of 16 of the Champions League. They face Manchester City in what should be the most-lopsided contest of the round. Schalke boss Domenico Tedesco was one of the best managers in the league last season. He’s had to contend with plenty of defeats just a year later. The Champions League could turn out to be one big distraction for Schalke come February.

Demoralized, this is a team that will need to pick themselves up and try to get enough points in order to reach the middle of the table. Only then can the players and its fans breathe a sigh of relief that relegation is averted come spring.

Biggest question: Will Bayern catch up or focus on the Champions League?

Bayern have fallen behind early and caught up before. It happened last season after BVB slumped and Bayern won their seventh consecutive title, but not to this extent.

This season, the team may want to do just enough to stay in the top four, but focus their energies on the Champions League. After all, that trophy has alluded them since 2013. For Bayern, that’s a long spell. Veterans such as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who was injured for most of this calendar year, and strikers Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski have the talent and experience to spearhead this team to several trophies this season.

Bayern do have the personnel and depth to compete with the best in Europe. They face Liverpool in the round of 16. Depending how the German champions do, it will determine what course for coach Niko Kovac to chart over the remaining three months of the season.