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Bayern Munich returned to winning ways in some style. They scored five times in the first half to secure a 5-1 win at the BayArena over Bayer Leverkusen in a Bundesliga game on Sunday.
Robert Lewandowski's brace was added to by Thomas Muller before Serge Gnabry's quickfire double ended the game as a contest. Leverkusen regrouped after the break, with Patrik Schick reducing arrears. The hosts also had a goal ruled out for offside.
However, Bayern were all too happy to let their foot off the pedal as their huge win returned them to the top of the Bundesliga table.
On that note, here's a look at five talking points from the game:
#5 Bayern Munich's first-half performance blows away Leverkusen
Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat of the campaign before the international break, when they were beat 2-1 at home by Eintracht Frankfurt. They resumed their campaign with a vengeance, with Robert Lewandowski opening the scoring in the third minute with a sublime backheel effort.
After 27 minutes, Lewandowski added his second of the night, connecting well with Alphonso Davies' pass. Bayern then scored thrice in the next seven minutes, with Serge Gnabry bagging a two-minute brace after Muller's deflected third.
Leverkusen imploded in the face of Bayern Munich's first-half surge as the outcome of the game became a foregone conclusion.
#4 Leverkusen grow into the game in the second half
The half-time interval could not have come quickly for Bayer Leverkusen, as it gave them the opportunity to regroup after Bayern Munich's onslaught. The Bavarians scored had four goals in eight first-half minutes, one of them almost directly from the restart.
To their credit, Leverkusen came back stronger in the second half, pulling one goal back in the 55th minute, thanks to a smart finish by Patrik Schick. While Bayern Munich continued to dominate proceedings, the hosts provided a better second-half performance to keep the holders at bay.
Unfortunately for them, the damage was already done for Leverkusen in the first half.
#3 Robert Lewandowski ends two-game Bundesliga scoreless run in style
Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for Bayern Munich to end his two-game Bundesliga scoring duck.
The way he celebrated the goal indicated how much the strike meant to him. The Polish striker had drawn blanks in the 1-2 defeat to Frankfurt and the 3-1 win against Greuther Furth. He was also overtaken by Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland in the scoring charts.
Lewandowski had failed to score in two FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying fixtures with Poland as well. So his performance against Bayer Leverkusen, who were level with Bayern Munich in the league table before the game, was key.
The Bayern Munich goal-machine scored twice in 30 minutes, and did not show any signs of fatigue from his participation in the international break. The brace helped him join Haaland at the top of the goalscoring charts, with nine goals.
#2 Bayer Leverkusen lose the midfield battle
Bayer Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, knowing fully well he did not have any fit defensive midfielder for the game.
He started Kerem Demirbay and Nadiem Amiri in front of a four-man defence. While Demirbay is a creative midfielder, Amiri is an attacking midfielder. The duo stood no match for the Bayern Munich midfield duo of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka.
It was Kimmich who bossed the midfield with an all-around performance. He created more key passes than anyone else on the pitch (6) while also making more interceptions (4) than any other player.
In the absence of the injured Charles Aranguiz, Leverkusen were overrun in midfield and never recovered.
#1 Bayern Munich return to top of the table with a commanding display
Bayern Munich displayed the champions' mentality against Leverkusen after a close defeat in their previous outing. In the process, they returned to winning ways with a statement victory.
The visitors always looked in control of the game. Bayern made the most of their possession to record as many as 27 goal attempts, with 11 of them on target. Though they did not score in the second half, the damage was already done in the first as a five-goal lead eventually proved insurmountable for Leverkusen.
Bayern Munich are a point ahead of Borussia Dortmund in the standings. They are now the top-scoring side across Europe's top five leagues.
