Five-star Bayern Munich thrash Fortuna Düsseldorf to extend league lead

Bayern Munich took a huge step towards clinching an eighth straight Bundesliga title with a convincing 5-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.

It was a complete performance from the defending champions as they dominated possession and pressed high up the pitch on the occasions when they didn’t have the ball, making it very difficult for Fortuna to get out of their own half. 

The first sign that Bayern were in devastating form came just six minutes in, when Joshua Kimmich played a delicious ball over the top for Robert Lewandowski to run onto. However, the Pole’s touch was a little heavy and that allowed goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier to come out and claim the loose ball.

A quarter of an hour in, Bayern took the lead through a Mathias Jørgensen own goal. Thomas Muller began the move with a precise crossfield ball into the penalty area from the left. It was met at the back post by Serge Gnabry who pulled it back to Benjamin Pavard. The French defender, on the stretch, turned it towards the goal, and it hit Jørgensen and deflected into the net.

The second goal, without doubt, belonged to Pavard, as he met a Kimmich corner with a thunderous header to double the hosts’ lead with less than half an hour played.

Just before the stroke of half time, Lewandowski made it three with his first ever goal against Fortuna. This means that he has now scored a league goal against every current Bundesliga team during his career. It was Lewandowski who started the move as he flicked an Alaba pass through to Kimmich who backheeled to Muller. With Kastenmeier bearing down on him, he laid it off to Lewandowski who calmly stroked it home.

Five minutes into the second half, Lewandowski had his second and Bayern’s fourth of the match. Gnabry again produced a smart pull back and it was deftly backheeled through the keeper’s legs by the striker.

Two minutes later, Alphonso Davies had his persistence rewarded as he dispossessed  Kevin Stöger on the edge of the area, weaved his way past two defenders and found himself in on goal. He calmly placed it beyond Kastenmeier for his second goal in three matches.

Bayern continued to press for more goals with Pavard and Muller going close later in the game.

Fortuna’s main chance of note fell to Niko Gießelmann, whose strike from the edge of the area was smartly palmed behind by the agile Manuel Neuer.

The preservation of the clean sheet rounded off a perfect day for Bayern who sent out a message not only to the other Bundesliga sides but to the rest of Europe with this hugely impressive performance.

Bayern: Neuer (c) – Pavard (Odriozola 62), Hernandez (Cuisance 46), Alaba, Davies – Kimmich, Goretzka – Gnabry (Batista Meier 78), Müller (Zirkzee 75), Coman (Perisic 62) – Lewandowski.

Fortuna: Kastenmeier – Giesselmann, Hoffmann, Zanka, Zimmermann (Zimmer 67)- Bodzek (c) – Thommy (Suttner 67), Stöger (Berisha 57), Morales (Sobottka 57) (Pledl 73), Skrzybski- Karaman.