Speed, skill and goals! FC Bayern displayed a strong performance in the 4-0 away win in Düsseldorf and left the pitch as well-deserved winners. "There was little to criticise today," said Hansi Flick, who was highly satisfied following the match. In the first half especially, the record champions played with a lot of gusto.
One move in the 19th minute was exemplary, when Thomas Müller back-heeled the ball right into the path of Robert Lewandowski, who was on a run. Although the Poland captain narrowly missed the target, the move showed the Bayern players were really up for the Matchday 12 clash, and this was reflected in coach Hansi Flick's praise for his team: "We put into practice what we'd planned. We put our opponents under pressure from the start and showed we wouldn't allow them anything. The team turned in an impressive display in the first half".
Playing an aggressive pressing game high up the pitch, the record champions forced Fortuna to make mistakes again and again. A good example of this was the second goal in the 27th minute. Goalkeeper Zackary Steffen played the ball right to the feet of the lurking Müller, who immediately initiated an attack which ended with Corentin Tolisso netting. Benjamin Pavard had previously fired the Reds into the lead in the 11th minute and Serge Gnabry, who added a third in the 34th was very satisfied with the performance: "We already closed the game out in the first half, we simply didn't ease off".
With the lead secured, the Bavarians took things a little slower in the second half. "We just let the clock run down," Müller admitted. Nevertheless, Düsseldorf hardly had any chances and Philippe Coutinho rounded off the 4-0 win with a strike in the 70th minute. It was Bayern's third straight win - and another clean sheet to boot. "A good defence is the basis", stressed Flick.
Thanks to the three points, the defending champions reduced the gap to leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach (who lost 2-0 at Union Berlin) to just one point and they can look forward with confidence to the upcoming Champions League away clash with Red Star Belgrade (Tuesday, 21:00 CET). Gnabry put it in a nutshell: "We’re in good shape right now".
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