As I write this, Crystal Palace have just won the 2026 Europa Conference League.
It is a magnificent triumph which caps a remarkable 12 months for the Eagles.
It has also got me thinking what further success they could have enjoyed under the soon-to-depart Oliver Glasner but for the departure of a trio of star men over the last two years.
Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze were the respective captain and match winner in last season’s FA Cup Final before the latter sealed a summer move to Arsenal – where he’s just secured a Premier League winners’ medal – while Guehi stayed to lead Palace to Community Shield success and enjoyed a stellar first half of the campaign ahead of a January move to Manchester City where he has just won the FA Cup for the second year in a row.
As we now reflect on a series of Bundesliga 2026 highlights, it’s easy to forget who the first of the Eagles’ esteemed trio was.
They know in Germany though for Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise has just secured a league and cup double and been named Bundesliga player of the season.
In a year in which the Bavarians have dominated to such an extent that their rivals were effectively playing for second spot after just six weeks, the Frenchman has been excellent yet again.
This was the season in which the gulf between Bayern and the rest financially was clearer than ever on the pitch, as well as off it.
Olise scored 15 goals and provided 19 assists over the course of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season, becoming the first player since 2019/20 to contribute at least 15 of each in a single Bundesliga campaign.
This is determined by a fan vote on Bundesliga platforms (weighting: 40 percent), a club vote (30 percent) and a vote by selected experts (30 percent).
Olise was previously named Rookie of the Season in his debut campaign in Germany.
Historically, Bayern legend Thomas Müller is the undisputed Bundesliga assist king of all time, holding the all-time record of over 180 assists.
Perhaps Olise could become the natural successor to his throne as their playmaker extraordinaire.
Certainly, as it stands, and the SBOTOP Bundesliga 2026 betting odds will concur, they look set to dominate German football for some years to come and Olise will have a big role to play in that.
The dominance domestically – and they were only one appalling decision away from being in this weekend’s Champions League Final too – was underlined by the fact that no fewer than four Bayern players were in the top nine of the assists chart.
Close behind Olise was Luis Diaz (14) whose impressive talent was very much Bayern’s gain and Liverpool’s loss after his move from England last summer.
Konrad Laimer, a player Bayern swooped for from RB Leipzig (again highlighting how they can sign players from their nearest rivals seemingly at a whim), was one of six players with nine assists to his name.
Only one non-Bayern player separated the top four and that was Dortmund’s Julian Ryerson who became their unlikely hero as they claimed the runners-up spot.
A right-back who thrives when attacking, one of his stand-out moments arrived in February when he created all four goals against Mainz in a 4-0 home victory.
Ryerson may rarely grab the headlines, but his quality has never been in doubt ever since he joined Union in 2019, when they were still in the second tier. While he only played eight times in Bundesliga 2 and was not an immediate starter upon his arrival, that experience clearly had an impact.
He is now looking forward to helping Norway as they participate in a World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
One other notable name worthy of mention is Denmark’s favourite son Christian Eriksen and I do want to spare a thought for his creative talents.
He was joint fourth overall on the assists list, despite playing in a team which only avoided automatic relegation on the final day of the season and have since lost their top flight status a few days ago following defeat to Paderborn in a play-off.
Wolfsburg had enjoyed Bundesliga football for 29 consecutive seasons, prior to the Paderborn loss. They previously yo-yoed between the second tier and lower leagues of German football. They will be back at some stage, possibly they will bounce straight back, but Eriksen is still a performer who deserves to be playing at the top level.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
