Markus Feulner scored one and set-up the other as Nuremberg saw off a resilient Düsseldorf side
Markus Feulner scored one and set-up the other as Nuremberg saw off a resilient Düsseldorf side

Nuremburg leapfrog Fortuna

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

Nuremberg - 1. FC Nuremberg bounced back to winning ways on Matchday 16 as their 2-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf moved them above their opponents in the Bundesliga table.

Club assume control

With chances few and far between it was Sebastian Polter, who put the hosts in front, and after Fortuna failed to make the most of a spell of pressure in the second half, Markus Feulner netted a late second to secure all three points for der Club.

In Bavaria's freezing temperatures it took both sides time to warm up in the match as Düsseldorf did their best to throw Nuremberg out of sync by pressing high up the pitch, an approach which had mixed results . Axel Bellinghausen blazed over from eight yards for Fortuna, but having squandered a handful of early chances der Club broke the deadlock, as Markus Feulner beat his man to fire across goal where Sebastian Polter was on hand to poke home at the near post.

The hosts disciplined backline denied Düsseldorf a regular sight of goal, while their attacking unit went about unlocking the visitors to great effect. Nuremberg's wing-play proved especially effective, but though Hanno Ballitsch and Javier Pinola both turned headers goalwards, neither could find a way past Fabian Giefer before the break.

Fortuna's fight reaps no rewards


The sides were battling over every blade of grass, but clear-cut chances remained at a premium in the hard-fought encounter. Düsseldorf began taking more risks going forward to help open up the game and their courage nearly paid off. Dani Schahin forced Timothy Chandler to clear his best effort off the line, while Andreas Lambertz bundled the ball the wrong side of the post to further frustrate the travelling fans.

Last-ditch defending and wasteful efforts from range littered the play throughout the closing stages, but when Markus Feulner found the top corner despite Giefer's best efforts, Nuremberg were able to comfortably see out the win.

Line-ups and statistics