Around the turn of the millennium, Bixente Lizarazu and Willy Sagnol formed a legendary FC Bayern full-back partnership. Philipp Lahm and David Alaba took over the positions on the outside of the defence after the two Frenchmen and were at least as impressive as their predecessors. Now Alphonso Davies and Benjamin Pavard are set to continue that tradition - as they proved again in the 5-0 win over Düsseldorf.
Bring exceptional quality to Bayern's game
The Canada international and the French World Cup winner have been demonstrating their top form for weeks. They're both solid in defence and are a constant danger when they get forward. "The fact that both full-backs get involved in our attacking play brings an exceptional quality to our game right now," enthuses coach Hansi Flick about his duo.
Pavard with impressive stats against Düsseldorf
Pavard was one of the most prominent Bayern players against Fortuna and it was his shot that resulted in an own goal to put the Reds 1-0 up on 15 minutes. A little later, the 24-year-old doubled the score himself with a powerful header (29'). It was already Pavard's fourth goal of the season. "Benji is a player who is very consistent. You can always rely on him 100 per cent," Flick lauded his number 5, who, in addition to these two goals, impressed with a pass rate of 97 per cent.
Davies never gives up
But Pavard's opposite number on the left was no less impressive. Just before the first goal, Davies regained possession for Flick's side with a strong tackle. Here, again, a distinctive trait of the Canadian international was evident. He never lets up and refuses to give up a ball for lost. That's how he got his own well-deserved goal to wrap up the 5-0 win (52'). "That was very special. I did my job as a defender. I pushed very high up the pitch, grabbed the ball and saw that I could slip it in," he said, pleased with his third goal of the season.
Praise from all quarters
"He's doing an excellent job, he's very composed," said sports director Hasan Salihamidžić just before the kick-off. "He's a terrific lad who works really hard every day in training and tries to learn something new," Alaba described his successor. But Davies himself remains modest despite the praise: "I enjoy football and try to do my best every day."
Davies and Pavard want to follow in big footsteps
It is precisely this attitude and mentality that distinguishes great players. Incidentally, Bayern won the Champions League in 2001 and 2013 with the full-back pairings of Lizarazu/Sagnol and Lahm/Alaba. Davies and Pavard naturally want to follow in the footsteps of their legendary predecessors.
Against Düsseldorf, both Davies and Pavard got their names on the scoresheet and have played a major part in FCB's new Bundesliga record:
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