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Initial Observations and Analysis
- The big story from today’s game is the injury to Manuel Neuer. I’m not going to speculate here on what this injury might be, so let’s hope that it’s nothing serious.
- The win takes Bayern back to the top of the table. There was a lot of pressure on them today to take all three points following Dortmund’s win yesterday, and they delivered in all facets of the game. Brilliant display.
- Coman and Gnabry continued their brilliant first half display in the second half. The two wingers have really taken the mantle handed to them by Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery and run with it. It was great to see.
Fulltime: Fortuna Dusseldorf 1-4 Bayern Munich
92- TOR! FC BAYERN! Leon Goretzka! Fortuna Dusseldorf 1-4 Bayern Munich. Lewandowski puts a cross into the box. It ends up at the feet of Goretzka, and he quickly gets that conceded goal back.
89- Goal. Fortuna Dusseldorf 1-3 Bayern Munich. Lukebakio converts the penalty.
87- We’ve stopped play for VAR review of a potential Hummels handball. His hands were clearly above his head, but the ball was a deflection. Referee awards a penalty.
84- Thiago has a wide open header that he sends way over the crossbar. That was disappointing.
78- Kovac brings on James for Gnabry.
70- Kovac brings on Goretzka for Muller.
67- Dusseldorf is making two changes, including bringing on Lukebakio. Bayern’s defense is on notice.
59- Thiago forces another massive save from Rensing! He got onto the end of a cross and knocked it toward goal, but the former Bayern man made a great diving save.
55- TOR! FC BAYERN! Serge Gnabry! Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-3 Bayern Munich. Muller got onto the end of a Thiago free kick and flicked it to the back post. Gnabry is there and pokes it across the goal line for the 3-0 lead.
53- Oh no! Title race impacting news here, as Neuer signals to the bench that he needs to come off the field. It looks like he just pulled up with a leg injury of some sort. Uh oh.
Ulreich comes on for Neuer.
50- Thiago forces a huge save from Rensing to keep it at 2-0. Bayern pinged the ball around in the Dusseldorf penalty area for a bit, before it ended up at the feet of Thiago.
46- The second half has kicked off.
Halftime observations and Analysis
- What a first half for Kingsley Coman. The winger has two goals to his name and has been terrorizing the Fortuna Dusseldorf backline. Coman has the potential to be a special player for Bayern Munich, if he can stay healthy.
- One of the reasons that Coman has had so much space to work with when cutting inside, is due to the drawing power of Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski. The two players are pulling one, two, and sometimes three defenders with them on their runs. It’s the power of greatness.
- Bayern’s defenders have done a really good job of keeping Dusseldorf from really putting any pressure on Manuel Neuer in the Bayern net. Thiago Alcantara and Javi Martinez have done a really good job of getting back and helping to crack down before anything too serious gets started.
45- Halftime: Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-2 Bayern Munich
41- TOR! FC BAYERN! Kingsley Coman! Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-2 Bayern Munich. Coman grabs his brace thanks to a nice finish following a Kimmich cross. Gnabry played a ball down the right side freeing Kimmich into space. He drove into the box before cutting the ball back to Coman in the middle for the finish. That’s 2-0 for Bayern, and it looked easy.
39- Muller plays a beautiful long, diagonal pass into space for Coman to run into. He cuts in on his right foot and rips a shot that is saved.
34- Dusseldorf are having trouble getting through the Bayern midfield on their counters at the moment. With no Lukebakio up top to sprint past the Bayern backline, they’ve lost arguably their biggest weapon here.
25- Dusseldorf gets a nice break, but the ball sails over Neuer’s goal.
16- TOR FC BAYERN! Kingsley Coman! Fortuna Dusseldorf 0-1 Bayern Munich. Gnabry pushes the ball out wide to Coman down the left flank. Coman cuts back in and whips a hard, bouncing cross into the box. Muller jumps out to make contact, but he misses it completely. The goalkeeper, anticipating Muiller’s touch, is out of position, and the ball goes into the back of the net.
14- Coman and Gnabry look like they’re having fun out there today.
12- This is a weird game this late in the season. There’s absolutely no pressure on Dusseldorf, as they’ve basically assured survival in the Bundesliga for next season. All the pressure is on Bayern. In recent seasons, this has been reversed.
6- Off the post! Some wonderful passing from Bayern frees Gnabry down the right side. He hits a low, hard cross into the box. Coman and a defender both slide to hit the ball, and it hits off the post.
3- Bayern are pressuring early to try and throw Dusseldorf off of their game. The newly promoted side is going to try to keep things simple today.
Kickoff: We’re underway! Bayern needs to win this one to stay ahead of BVB, let’s go!
One hour until kickoff: We have lineups!
Unsere Aufstellung für #F95FCB: pic.twitter.com/mjPPhvPKuz
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) April 14, 2019
Matchday! Sunday matches are always the worst, they make you wait too long. In any case, Bayern Munich are back in action against Fortuna Dusseldorf. This seems like a classic slip-up opportunity that could gift Borussia Dortmund the title, so Niko Kovac’s men will have to be vigilant and not do anything dumb.
Bayern will be missing the services of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, and Corentin Tolisso, although Alphonso Davies is finally back from injury. The absences don’t affect the lineup much for today’s game, as it’s likely that Niko Kovac will opt for the same formation and personnel he used against BVB.
Robert Lewandowski, funnily enough, has never scored against Dusseldorf. With Dortmund somehow beating Mainz on Saturday, Bayern sit second in the table and cannot afford anything but a victory. This would be a good time for the striker to open his account.
It’s Bayern time.
Match Info
Location: MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA, Dusseldorf, Germany
Time: 3:30 pm local time, 9:30 am EST
TV/streaming: Fubo.tv, Find Your Country
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