Top 5 scorers of Bundesliga 2021-22 season so far
Following a rollercoaster opening half of the 2021-22 season, the Bundesliga has gone into the Christmas break. With 17 games played, the league is exactly at the halfway mark right now.
Bayern Munich, champions for the last nine years in a row, are on course to complete a decade of dominance, with the side racing away with the Meisterschale once again.
They're currently nine points clear at the top of the table, having led by just one until their meeting with second-placed Borussia Dortmund earlier this year. A lot has transpired in the past four months and it's time we look back upon a few aspects, such as the top-scorers.
Remarkably, 473 goals have been scored in the Bundesliga, averaging over three per game, and these five players have been the most prolific:
#5 Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) - 9 goals
Two players are tied at nine goals each - Union Berlin's Taiwo Awoniyi and Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry - and both managed it in 17 games each.
But the latter got the spot here because he also racked up three assists, two more than his Nigerian counterpart.
Serge Gnabry is on fire! Hat-trick and two assists as Bayern Munich beat Stuttgart 5-0 🔥 https://t.co/utieG1J8fA
Despite his tally, Gnabry has been inconsistent this season, which has also led to several Bundesliga appearances off the bench for him in the last two months.
Nevertheless, he struck a hat-trick against Stuttgart last week which added some gloss to his season. However, Julian Naglesmann will be demanding more from him in the second half.
#4 Anthony Modeste (Koln) - 11 goals
Koln are surging in the Bundesliga, thanks to their prolific marksman Anthony Modeste, who has struck 11 goals in the season thus far. It is slightly over 40% of the side's total strikes.
Also, interestingly, eight of his goals have been headers. It is the highest count for a player in the first half of the German top-flight and a testament to the player's remarkable aerial prowess.
8 – Anthony Modeste has scored eight headed goals, the most by a player in the first half of a Bundesliga season since detailed data collection in 2004/05. Headwork. #KOEVFB https://t.co/ZCVv8jin2d
And he isn't merely stat-padding either. The 33-year-old forward has single-handedly helped the Billy Goats win 10 points this season, It is among the highest number of points won in Europe's major leagues at this stage.
His heroics include scoring both of Koln's goals in their 2-2 draws with Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin. He also hit late winners in the matches against Wolfsburg and Stuttgart respectively.
A clutch player in the truest sense.