In the last part of 90min-Position checks from the 2021/22 women’s Bundesliga season focus on number 9. As goal guarantors, the strikers attract a lot of attention, their goals can decide a season. Which players had the best killer instincts this season?
21-year-old Selina Cerci was well on her way to winning the top scorer with 13 goals when she suffered a cruciate ligament tear in early March. A hard blow for the Turbine Potsdam team: the team needed their qualities in the tricky final sprint against Frankfurt and Bayern, but also against Freiburg, where they dropped two points.
Born in Kiel, she is really excited this season and radiates danger with her versatility: Cerci is fast, good in the air, quick to react and good at dribbling. Most importantly, she’s surefooted with the ball and has been up and away from a through ball to score a number of times this season. This makes her a fairly complete striker who can also play for her teammates (four assists). Your interaction with strike partner Melissa Kössler has worked very well for Potsdam this season, such as the Last minute goal against Freiburg shows in the first leg.
Her injury is particularly grim given Cerci’s outstanding form, given that she has already played for the national team this season. It is not yet clear which team she will be chasing goals for next season: Her contract with Potsdam expires this summer and a change does not seem unlikely.
Of course, the top scorer should not be missing from this list either. Lea Schüller secured the cannon as the most accurate striker and scored 16 goals like last season. The goals they scored to make it 2-2 against Frankfurt and their brace against Hoffenheim were particularly important for Bayern. After initial difficulties after moving from SGS Essen to Bayern, the 24-year-old has completely established herself.
Schüller particularly likes to score goals with his head, and since Bayern also have many good crosses like Klara Bühl or Giulia Gwinn, this was a recipe for success this season. But Schüller is also dangerous with the foot, especially with the powerful right, and excels in her ability to sneak behind defenses. Her timing of passes behind the chain is very good and she exploits defensive mistakes mercilessly. When there is chaos in the penalty area, Schüller is almost always there and puts the ball into the goal, as she is often quicker than the defenders.
But there is still a small drawback: This season Schüller has scored the majority of her goals against smaller opponents, in the top games she could be even more accurate. She will soon be able to prove this ability at the European Championships, where she will probably be seeded for Germany. In the difficult preliminary round group with co-favorite Spain and runner-up Denmark, it will also depend on their goals. Schüller already scored against the former at the Arnold Clark Cup preparatory tournament in spring, a repeat could follow soon.
1️⃣6️⃣ goals in 2️⃣1️⃣ games!
? All goals of our top scorer Lea #student. ??#FC Bayern #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/OhaeL2GiA5
— FC Bayern Women (@FCBfrauen) May 19, 2022
Concern was great when VfL Wolfsburg’s top striker, the Pole Ewa Pajor, was seriously injured in September. Pajor started the season strongly, collecting three goals and three assists in three Bundesliga games. “We are convinced of the offensive options in our squad, but we know only too well that their skills cannot be replaced one for one,” said VfL sporting director Ralf Kellermann after her knee injury.
The fact that Pajor’s failure could be absorbed well was largely due to Tabea Waßmuth. The 25-year-old only switched from TSG Hoffenheim to the Wolves in the summer, but has since exceeded all expectations. She has 13 goals and six assists in the Bundesliga, and her stats are even more impressive in the Champions League, with ten goals and three assists in ten games, making her the runners-up top scorer in her debut season in the competition .
Waßmuth, who also often plays the grand piano, is characterized by her speed. This season she has also made a big step forward in terms of ball control and dribbling. She often falls back a bit, then plays a one-two and finishes, a move that is difficult for opponents to defend. Waßmuth has harmonized particularly well this season with Svenja Huth and the Dutch player Jill Roord, and her teamwork with Ewa Pajor, who made her comeback in April, worked very well at the end of the season against Leverkusen.
The other position check for the women’s Bundesliga season as well as everything about women’s football can be found here.
