Double Headers
In a match where Bayern were rarely threatened, they went ahead with a Mario Gomez header inside the 6-yard box from a Franck Ribéry cross in only the 6th minute of the game. Their second came on the half hour mark when a pinpoint Toni Kroos free kick found Thomas Müller leaping to nod home his first goal in 4 months.
The stand-out performer of the afternoon was David Alaba. Deputizing for the injured Bastian Schweinsteiger the young Austrian international covered every blade of grass and did a great job breaking up the few forward advances the opposition made.
Bayern pressed their visitors throughout the entire game and stifled every attempt Lautern made to build on any period of possession. Not that the visitors were capable of providing any threat to Manuel Neuers' goal. The German international shot-stopper was troubled very little and had a relatively easy afternoon.
"We played well in the 1st half to take the lead and it was good for our team to clearly dominate the match," explained the former Schalke number 1 after the match.
Holger Badstuber also put in a very good shift in the heart of the defence. He was first to almost every high ball and was generally calm and composed at the back. He even came close to scoring in the last quarter of an hour after a rare excursion into the visitors' penalty area. Devils' keeper Kevin Trapp stood his ground well to block the shot.
Arjen Robben, a second half substitute, wasted some good chances and seemed to be oblivious of his teammates with the ball at his feet, heading directly for goal when maybe the supporting players were in a better position than him.
Against better quality opposition Bayern will need to up their game if they want to continue to push for the title. Despite winning today they looked disjointed at times and lacked an edge in front of goal. Gomez did enough in the first half but went missing for most of the second.
After the game Kroos was quick to remind reporters that winning was the important thing. "We can always play better. We can be satisfied with the 1st half but we could have played better in the 2nd half despite having the lead."
Their opponents today offered very little going forward today. Their gameplan it seemed was to defend and try to limit Bayern's goals. To lose by only two when Bayern looked as if they were playing with an extra man, you could say that their plan worked.
Next up is an away trip to relegation candidates SC Freiburg and another opportunity to chalk up three points.