Bayern Munich: Ranking Best and Worst Players for February

Bayern Munich continued their march to a third consecutive league title on Friday with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Cologne to conclude a successful month of February. 

Pep Guardiola's side are still very much in each of the four competitions they began at the start of the season and will have high hopes of finishing up in May with a whole host of additions to their trophy cabinet. 

But just how good were the Bavarian giants over the last month?

Here's a full list of the top five and worst five performers in Guardiola's squad over the past four weeks in the Bundesliga and Champions League. 

A Note

Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press

As we head toward today's list, it is important to consider that each of the players mentioned were judged purely on what they did over the course of February. 

Some players who made very brief, irrelevant appearances throughout the month were excluded simply for being unable to make significant contributions to the side. 

All stats quoted and used in the slideshow were taken from Transfermarkt.com. 

Top Five

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Arjen Robben - 1

At the top of our list is the undoubted champion of this title-chasing side, Arjen Robben. The Dutch international has been in spectacular form over the month of February, scoring seven goals and making five assists in his last five Bundesliga games. 

When it comes to Bayern, there is only one star player at the moment, and he’s currently skipping past defenders with ease from one week to the next. 

Bastian Schweinsteiger - 2

Second on our list is club vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has finally regained his full fitness and began thriving once again in the middle of Bayern’s midfield. 

The World Cup winner has captained the team over the past month and even managed to score a goal and provide two assists in his past two Bundesliga games. He is a truly world-class central midfielder who is returning to the top of his game. 

Franck Ribery - 3

Franck Ribery may not be back to full fitness and therefore up to the task of matching Robben in terms of individual brilliance each week, but the Frenchman isn’t far off and, as such, is still quite a spectacle to behold. 

Ribery played three Bundesliga games in a row for Bayern over the past month and managed to notch three goals and three assists. He's a true goalscorer and playmaker whenever given the opportunity.

Robert Lewandowski - 4

Despite what may be regarded as popular opinion at the moment, Bayern are, in fact, a much better team when Robert Lewandowski is in the side. 

The Polish striker scored no fewer than four goals last month but was notably absent during the club’s Champions League clash with Shakhtar, ending in a goalless draw. 

Holger Badstuber - 5

If there’s one thing Bayern certainly need right now, it’s another strong, capable central defender. As such, the return of Holger Badstuber in February has been welcomed with unanimous applause from all corners of the support, as the former German international completed three 90-minute games in a row in the Bundesliga. 

Guardiola is a big fan of Badstuber, and if he can continue improving as he showed in February then we may have a new mainstay of the Bayern defence.

Worst Five

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Xabi Alonso - 1

There once was a point this season when Xabi Alonso could do no evil. The Spaniard arrived from Real Madrid to replace Toni Kroos and had done fantastically well until recently. 

Unfortunately, the central midfielder has lost much of his composure in the past month and witnessed his darkest day in a Bayern kit when he was sent off against Shakhtar in the Champions League. 

Alonso will be back to his best before long, but he won’t want to remember February. 

Jerome Boateng - 2

It may be something of a cop-out to be considering Jerome Boateng as one of Bayern’s most incompetent performers in February, having missed two games through suspension, but the very reason he missed such games weighs heavily on his overall form for the month. 

Boateng looked back to his old self against Paderborn but was culpable for the goal against Cologne and didn’t look very sure of things in the 0-0 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk. 

Thomas Muller - 3

Again, it’s very hard to actually criticise Bayern players at the moment, but if there is one thing that Bayern haven’t done quite as well, it has been their ability to remain sharp in front of goal. At the heart of this lies Thomas Muller, for whom Guardiola has opted over Lewandowski on a number of occasions to very little effect. 

The forward may have scored two goals against Hamburg in the 8-0 win, but he has done very little in terms of goals or assists aside from that. 

Mario Gotze - 4

Mario Gotze hasn’t exactly been poor or even disappointing for Bayern over the past month, but the man once described as “the German Messi” has long since done anything of awe or interest for the Allianz Arena faithful. 

With just two goals in his last five starts in all competitions, Gotze may be getting along on passing marks, but he’s hardly thriving in Munich at the moment. 

Sebastian Rode - 5

In a manner which may not be entirely fair to the player, Sebastian Rode has been included in this list simply because he still hasn’t forced himself into this Bayern first team. 

The young, defensive midfielder has looked bright at times, but with just 30 minutes or so worth of playing time over the last month, it may be time to consider looking at other options.