Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich claimed third spot in the table  and Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten has been one of the key performers for Bayern.

The 31-year-old centre back was mainly warming the bench in the past couple of seasons, but has developed into an important first team member under new head coach Louis van Gaal. Van Buyten has already made seventeen league appearances, in which he scored four goals.

“I needed the first season after my transfer to Bayern acclimatise to the new environment and the pressure. Nevertheless, now I sense the coach’s faith in me. I’ve been given the chance to show what I can do,” said Van Buyten to the official Bayern website.

“This has been my best half-season so far. It’s always special when a defender scores. My goal for the remainder of the campaign is scoring as many goals as possible. At Marseille, I once scored ten in a season.

“However, I’m going to enjoy the holidays for now and then make sure I’m perfectly prepared for the second half of the season.”