How timid Düsseldorf paid the heavy price against Bayern

Bayern Munich made a major statement last week when they thrashed rival title contenders Borussia Dortmund 5-0 at the Allianz Arena. The win surged the Bavarian club to the top of the table on points for the first time since late September 2018. This past weekend, Bayern put on another dominant display as they demolished Fortuna Düsseldorf 4-1 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.

An early brace by Kingsley Coman, followed by goals from Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka, all added to Bayern’s impressive scoring streak now up to 27 goals in just their last six league matches. The tactics that manager Niko Kovač utilised were simply overwhelming for Düsseldorf.

Lineups

Düsseldorf came out in their common 4-1-4-1 formation. Joint-top scorer Dodi Lukebakio began the match on the bench after a poor performance in his last match, despite scoring a stunning hat-trick against Bayern the last time these two clubs met. Fellow Belgian wide attacker Benito Raman has notched three goals and two assists in his last three matches, and was looking to continue his form against a side not impermeable to Düsseldorf’s counter-attacks.

Kovač meanwhile sent out an unchanged XI from their victory against Dortmund. It appears as though, after a number of personnel changes and positional shifts throughout the season, the Croatian manager has found a group that can both possess and counter-attack in his balanced style of play.