Fortuna powerless as Bayern set Bundesliga record
Düsseldorf - FC Bayern Munich added yet another Bundesliga record to their tally as Franck Ribery put in a man-of-the-match performance to guide them to an eighth consecutive win with a comfortable 5-0 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf.
One-way traffic
No team has ever won their first eight matches of a Bundesliga campaign, but in truth there was only going to be one winner as Düsseldorf rarely threatened Manuel Neuer's clean sheet. Mario Mandzukic opened the scoring before Luiz Gustavo doubled their advantage in the lead up to half-time. With Fortuna showing no signs of making a comeback it was left to a Thomas Müller brace and Rafinha's first goal of the season to wrap up the win.
It came as little surprise that Bayern wasted no time in getting themselves on the front foot as Düsseldorf dropped deep from the very first whistle with the aim of posing a threat on the counter. Toni Kroos twice stung the palms of Fabian Giefer with long-range efforts, but with Fortuna packing out their backline, the record titleholders were forced to play the patience game as they looked to carve out their opportunities.
The visitors were camped out in Düsseldorf's half and thought they had taken the lead through Thomas Müller only for the midfielder's effort to be cancelled out by the offside flag. Die Münchner's intense pressing game was forcing Norbert Meier's side to concede possession cheaply and their resistance was finally undone on the half-hour mark. Ribery found Mandzukic unmarked in the six-yard box with an exquisite outside-of-the-boot pass that presented the Croatian with the easiest of tap-ins to hand Bayern a deserved lead.
Complete control
The league leaders smelt blood and if it weren't for Giefer, who twice denied Müller, Fortuna would certainly have fallen further behind. However, the 22-year-old was helpless when it came to preventing Bayern from extending their lead before half-time. Müller climbed well to head towards goal and, having gotten in the way of the initial effort, Gustavo bundled the ball over the line after Düsseldorf failed to react to the danger.
Fortuna plucked up their courage during the break and breathed life into the game early in the second half as they pushed forward in search a response. Robbie Kruse's sensational solo run wasn't rewarded as Neuer clawed away the Australian's resulting cross, but the wind was taken out of Fortuna's sail when Bayern added a third soon after. Ribery found space on the right and teed-up Müller, who made no mistake by curling an unstoppable effort into top corner.
Rubbing salt in the wound
The Frenchman arguably should have netted a goal of his own, but after cutting inside Du-Ri Cha on the left, the winger scuffed his shot straight into the midriff of a grateful Giefer. With quarter of an hour remaining Bayern were able to take their foot off the pedal as they looked to see out the game. Substitute Nando Rafael blasted an effort over the bar at the back post, which was as close as Düsseldorf came to pulling a goal back and only served to relight Bayern's fire.
David Alaba, making his return from injury, provided an instant impact off the bench as he burst down the left before crossing for Müller to slide home his second of the game. The visitors weren't done there either as Ribery once again unlocked Düsseldorf's backline, this time to set-up Rafinha who slammed his effort into the far corner to ensure that Bayern set a new season best-mark with an emphatic victory.
Line-ups and statistics
James Thorogood
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