Bayern Munich extended their unbeaten run of form in the Bundesliga to six matches. They defeated Greuther Furth 3-1 on Friday night to record another three points in their quest for a tenth consecutive league title. Although it was not a 7-0 victory, such as the week prior against VfL Bochum, Bayern was still the dominant side. Here are five key stats from Die Roten’s fifth win of the Bundesliga season.
Shots from afar
This was the first Bundesliga match of the season where Bayern recorded more shots from outside the penalty area than from inside the penalty area. They recorded seven shots from outside the box and just five from within the box. Bayern was able to convert one of these seven chances as the goal of the match came from outside the box as Joshua Kimmich’s top-class effort found the bottom corner of the net.
A rare sending off
Benjamin Pavard has not been one to receive many red cards in his career. In fact, his sending off on Friday night was the first time he received a straight red card in his Bundesliga career. Although the 48th-minute red card put Bayern at a disadvantage for the remainder of the match, it has certainly not been a habit for Pavard over the course of his career in the German top flight.
Kimmich strikes again
It’s been a terrific start to the season for Kimmich. His goal against Greuther Furth was his third league goal of the season and he is just one goal shy of matching his goal total in the Bundesliga from last season. Kimmich’s career-best goal total in the German top flight is six goals which were scored in the 2016/17 campaign. With three goals scored in six matches in the current term, he is on pace to set a career-best in league goals scored.
Greuther Furth leaves it too late
After gaining a man advantage in the 48th minute, Greuther Furth was unable to produce many scoring attempts in the immediate minutes following the sending off of Pavard. From the 50th minute until the 70th minute, Greuther Furth registered just one shot. During this period of time, they also conceded an own goal to make it a 3-0 advantage for Bayern.
The hosts did pick up the pace of their shot attempts with four being recorded in the final 20 minutes of the match. However, by then, it was too late to mount a comeback. Had they been able to produce more chances immediately after Bayern were reduced to ten men it could have a much different conclusion to the match.
A historic goal for Thomas Muller
Muller’s opening goal in the tenth minute was his 218th career goal for Bayern. With his 218th goal, he surpasses Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to become the third-highest goalscorer in club history. Only Robert Lewandowski and Gerd Muller have scored more goals in Bayern’s history than the 32-year-old.