Bayern Munich may have romped to a historic tenth successive Bundesliga title during the 2021/22 season, but it was far from a satisfying campaign.
A shock 5-0 exit in the DFB-Pokal second round at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach early on was surpassed by an even more frustrating Champions League quarter-final defeat to Villarreal.
After laughing off the notion of going out to the relative minnows, Bayern slipped to a 2-1 aggregate loss, condemning Julian Nagelsmann to just one (proper) trophy in his maiden season at the Allianz Arena.
Here is a look back at Bayern’s 2021/22 campaign…
Robert Lewandowski
Forgive us for being boring, but once again Bayern’s player of the season has to be Robert Lewandowski.
35 goals in the Bundesliga speaks for itself, with Lewandowski ending the campaign with a staggering 50 strikes in all competitions. Bayern have a big hole to fill this summer with the Poland international set to leave the club.
Honourable mentions: Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry.
Serge Gnabry vs Dortmund
Serge Gnabry got his side off to a dream start in the third Der Klassiker of the season in April.
With just a quarter of an hour on the clock, the former Arsenal man controlled Leon Goretzka’s looping header and unleashed an unstoppable volley into the top corner. Marwin Hitz stayed rooted to the spot and watched the ball almost break the net.
Honourable mentions: Kingsley Coman vs Union Berlin, Corentin Tolisso vs Koln, Serge Gnabry vs Stuttgart.
Bayer Leverkusen 1-5 Bayern Munich
Beating Barcelona 3-0 twice in the Champions League group stages was pretty impressive but Bayern’s best display of the season came at the BayArena all the way back in October.
Bayer Leverkusen would end up finishing third in the Bundesliga, but on this day it was men against boys. The highlight of the seamless attacking masterclass was Bayern netting three times in as many first-half minutes to take the game away from Patrik Schick and co.
The fact that the victory came just a few days after a humiliating defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt made it even more impressive.
Honourable mentions: Bayern Munich 7-0 VfL Bochum, Bayern Munich 7-1 RB Salzburg, Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich
Dayot Upamecano
Bayern had a quiet summer and winter transfer window so Dayot Upamecano has little competition for this award.
Upamecano has shown plenty of promise this season, particularly in possession – no Bundesliga player has averaged more completed passes per 90 minutes. He may be a bit rough around the edges defensively at times, but at 22 he has plenty of time to develop that side of his game.
Honourable mentions: N/A
Jamal Musiala
There really isn’t a standout player for this award, but Jamal Musiala continues to go from strength to strength.
Although there is a feeling that the German teenager could have been even better, Musiala has certainly become a more-rounded performer for Bayern and has demonstrated tremendous positional versatility.
His assists numbers were up significantly and he looks set to get even better during the 2022/23 campaign.
Honourable mention: Omar Richards
Kingsley Coman
Kingsley Coman hasn’t exactly been bad for Bayern Munich, but just 16 starts in the Bundesliga and eight goals in all competitions? Doesn’t really seem enough for a player of his quality.
Still, aged just 25, the Frenchman still has time to force his way into Nagelsmann’s plans more regularly, and he’s shown before just how good he can be. With Lewandowski likely to leave, perhaps next season will be the one where Coman steps up to a world-class level.
Honourable mentions: Marcel Sabitzer, Julian Nagelsmann
