Fortuna Düsseldorf 0-4 Bayern Munich: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Die Roten Cruise to Victory

Bayern returned to within a point of top spot in the Bundesliga with a resounding 4-0 victory over ​Fortuna Düsseldorf at the Merkur Spiel-Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Joshua Kimmich opened the scoring for the visitors on the 11th minute mark as the German's attempted pass to Benjamin Pavard caught Zack Steffen by surprise and trickled into the left-hand corner of the net. 

Corentin Tolisso added Bayern's second just before the half-hour mark, slotting home from Serge Gnabry's pass after Düsseldorf failed to clear their lines after playing out from the back. Gnabry got himself on the scoresheet after 34 minutes as he converted Thomas Müller's pass from six yards out. Düsseldorf's defenders were too slow to react and the 24-year-old made it 3-0 for the visitors before half time. 

​Bayern went into cruise control in the second half, dominating possession and starving Düsseldorf of the ball. Philippe Coutinho couldn't miss as he poked the ball home following some good work by Robert Lewandowski. 

Düsseldorf offered little in the way of a response, and Hansi Flick will no doubt be elated following his sides dominant display.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Steffen (6); Zimmermann (5), Ayhan (5), Adams (5), Gießelmann (5); Bozdek (6), Morales (6); Thommy (5), Fink (5), Kownacki (6); Hennings (5)

Substitutes: Suttner (5), Sobottka (N/A), Zimmer (N/A)

Bayern Munich

Key Talking Point

Hansi Flick has enjoyed a stellar start to his career as Bayern manager, despite it being on an interim basis. The 54-year-old had won his previous two games, beating Olympiacos 2-0 in the Champions League and dismantling Borussia Dortmund in their 4-0 victory in Flick's first Der Klassiker. 

Although the German boss may not last long at the helm with rumours of former Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino hotting up, he has certainly helped stabilise Bayern and unite the dressing room following a split under Niko Kovač.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Neuer (6); Pavard (7), Martínez (6), Alaba (7), Davies (8*); Kimmich (7), Tolisso (8), Müller (7); Gnabry (8), Coutinho (7), Lewandowski (8)

Substitutes: Perišić (7), Thiago (6), Goretzka (N/A)

Star Man - Alphonso Davies

Despite a ​host of strong performances from Bayern's players, it is 19-year-old Alphonso Davies who deserves the headlines following die FCB's resounding victory. 

The left-back has only featured in Flick's starting XI due to injuries to Jerome Boateng, Niklas Süle and Lucas Hernandez and has repaid the faith that his manager has shown him. Davies was impenetrable throughout the match, dominating his battles against Erik Thommy and Rouwen Hennings. 

A positive start to life at Bayern for the youngster, who will no doubt keep his place in the upcoming weeks as the fixtures come thick and fast. 

Looking Ahead

Following on from their win, Bayern travel to the Red Star Stadium as they take on Serbian side Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night in match day five of the Champions League. Die Roten then return to ​Bundesliga action with a tricky fixture at home against Bayer Leverkusen four days later. 

Meanwhile Fortuna Düsseldorf take on Hoffenheim at the Rhein-Neckar Arena next Saturday before the daunting trip to the Westfalenstadion to face ​Borussia Dortmund a week later.