Bayern won as Thiago and Gotze disappoints

Bayern Munich extended their unbeaten record to 28 consecutive matches in the Bundesliga, beating Nurnberg 2-0 at the Allianz Arena. Goals from Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben helped them to claim all three points in the Bavarian derby, leaving them with a perfect nine points from three matches in the 2013-14 Bundesliga campaign keeping up with Dorutmund.

Guardiola continued his vision for a new Bayern Munich style by starting both new signings, Thiago Alcantara and Mario Gotze, in the central positions of his roaming front four, alongside Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, while Mario Mandzukic led the line.
The first half offered no more than another troublesome 45 minutes for Bayern and their fans as the central pairing of Thiago Alcantara and Mario Gotze struggled. In the former Dortmund playmaker's first Bundesliga start for his new side, both he and Thiago offered very little in terms of attacking options, as both not only failed to adapt to their own roles in the side, but also to the strong defense of their stubborn opponents.
There were moments of brilliance from the defending champions, unsurprisingly through the ever-reliable Franck Ribery as he skipped past Timothy Chandler on the left-hand wing and continuously sought the attention of Nurnberg's remaining back line. Arjen Robben was also of use throughout the first half, peppering the right wing with his direct runs.
Bayern surprisingly began the second half with the same starting eleven intact, yet with a different range of instructions as Ribery and Robben put a greater emphasis on crossing the ball for their towering striker in the box.
By the 60th minute, Nurnberg's box was in utter bombardment from the service offered to Mandzukic, as the striker duly complied and threatened to open the scoring if not for an excellent effort by Schafer to push the Croatian's header over the box.
Change finally came in the following 10 minutes as the two first-half culprits, Thiago and Gotze, were eventually replaced by Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos. The difference was immediate and in the 69th minute Franck Ribery broke the deadlock with a passionate header. With the home side finally getting their goal, all that was left for Nurnberg was to simply sit by and helplessly witness a wonderful goal from Arjen Robben deep in the later stages of the half as he skipped by three rushing defenders and slotted the ball past the stunned goalkeeper.

 A goal that will go down as an "Arjen Robben trademark," as the icing on the cake of this incredibly comfortable win for the Munich side in the 187th Bavarian derby.