Bayern Munich vs Fortuna Dusseldorf. German Bundesliga.
Allianz Arena.
Report as Alphonso Davies, Benjamin Pavard and a Mathias Jorgensen own goal give Bayern a resounding victory
Sunday 31 May 2020 07:01, UK
Robert Lewandowski scored a double as Bayern Munich moved three wins from the Bundesliga title with a 5-0 demolition of Fortuna Dusseldorf.
An unfortunate Mathias Jorgensen own goal (15) from Benjamin Pavard's scuffed effort set the hosts on their way before the Frenchman got himself on the scoresheet from a corner on the half-hour (29).
Lewandowski netted his 28th league goal of the season moments before the break to end a stunning move of one-touch football, and doubled his tally from Serge Gnabry's centre five minutes after the restart to move 11 off Gerd Muller's all-time record of 40 Bundesliga goals in a season.
Alphonso Davies made it five with Dusseldorf's defence floundering two minutes later in a performance of true class from the hosts, who need only three more wins to seal the Bundesliga title and are now 10 points clear of Borussia Dortmund ahead of BVB's game at Paderborn on Sunday.
For a much-changed Dusseldorf, Uwe Rosler cut a frustrated figure watching his side's well below-par performance, as they remain a point off Mainz in 16th.
Even before Borussia Dortmund's trip to Paderborn, Bayern knew four wins would be enough to seal an eighth straight Bundesliga title, and they began in style against a resurgent Dusseldorf.
Within 90 seconds, only a heavy touch from Lewandowski denied them an opener, but set the tone for a dominating first half. On the quarter-hour, Gnabry's cut-back was scuffed goalwards by Pavard, and bundled into his own net by Jorgensen, for a helping hand Bayern barely needed but were happy to take.
Pavard's name may have been etched off of that opener but on the half-hour, he had his goal, as he beat a half-hearted jump from Niko Giesselmann to nod in Joshua Kimmich's corner.
With Fortuna's attacks few and far between, relentless Bayern kept up the pressure and added a deserved, stunning third before the break. Lewandowski's backheel into Kimmich began the move, before the midfielder's square ball to Muller in the box was in turn moved back to the Polish striker to tap into an empty net.
Within seven minutes of the break, any hopes of damage limitation had been wiped out for the visitors by a pair of quick-fire goals. Bayern's build-up was again superb as Coman's switch across the box found Gnabry, who then turned it back for Lewandowski to double his tally.
But by the time their fifth went in, the visitors' heads had clearly dropped, as Davies was allowed to waltz into the box without a hint of a serious challenge and slot in his second in three games.
To compound Dusseldorf's misery, their one clear-cut chance of the evening was then nodded over from no more than four yards by Andre Hoffmann.
Bayern should have grabbed a sixth in the final 20 minutes as Gnabry's effort was palmed into Lewandowski's path by Kastenmeier, but the Pole's hesitancy let him down and let the vsitors off the hook.
Such has been their consistency under Hansi Flick, Bayern's relentlessness never let their visitors rest easy even with such a commanding lead, but it did not need a sixth goal for them to extend their lead at the top to 10 points in the most scintillating of victories.
Sky Sports' Ron Walker...
"Bayern could have taken their foot off the pedal long before full-time. But they were relentless - it took until Flick's changes well into the second half for their rhythm to disrupt their flow whatsoever.
"Three wins from five seems like a given at this point, with Bayern showing no signs of slowing up in their pursuit of an eighth straight Bundesliga title.
"From four games back since the coronavirus outbreak, Bayern have dominated three - and realistically they could have put more than five past Fortuna here.
"Their third goal, just before the break, showed them at their technical best but it was far from the only example of their growing confidence, and more worryingly for their competitors, their ability to dominate all comers."
Bayern Munich travel to Champions League-chasing Bayer Leverkusen at 2.30pm next Saturday. Fortuna Dusseldorf host Hoffenheim at the same time.
