'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Fresh from their 3-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League, Bayern Munich returned to domestic action when they hosted FC Koln in the Bundesliga.
Niko Kovac's men came into the fixture placed 7th place on the league table and were seeking to bounce back from their 1-1 stalemate with RB Leipzig last time out. They did just that, defeating the newcomers by an emphatic scoreline of 4-0.
A brace from Robert Lewandowski saw him go further clear in the race for the Bundesliga Golden Boot, while Philippe Coutinho opened his goal account for the German side from the spot, with Ivan Perisic wrapping proceedings with a strike from the edge of the area in the 73rd minute.
Robert Lewandowski's double means he has scored a remarkable nine league goals from just five matches, while also continuing his streak of having scored in every Bundesliga match so far. He also went on to show great team spirit by allowing Coutinho to take a penalty when he could have done so himself for his second hat-trick of the season.
The victory sees Bayern Munich climb to the top of the league table pending the conclusion of other matches, and in this piece, we shall be highlighting three factors that helped them see off FC Koln.
#3 Their incredible home form
Bayern Munich are a scary prospect to face anywhere on the planet, and this fear factor is amplified when opposition teams take them on at the Allianz Arena.
To put this in perspective, Bayern Munich have lost just two Bundesliga fixtures at home since the 2016/2017 season, winning 42 of their 54 matches in that time.
Simply put, the Bavarians generally do not lose at home in the league, and it was always going to be a tall order for FC Koln to pull off a shock victory n front of over 60,000 Die Roten fans.
As it happened, there was to be no upset, as Bayern Munich continued their impressive record at home in the league.
#2 Kingsley Ehizibue's red card
It was always going to be a tall order for FC Koln to get anything from the fixture against Bayern Munich, and that proved to be the case when they fell two goals behind inside the first 49 minutes.
However, as any keen football follower would tell you, a 2-0 margin is not exactly the most comfortable of leads, and there have been plenty of instances of teams overturning two-goal deficits.
Despite the superiority of their hosts, Koln would have fancied their chances of clawing back, and all it would have taken was a goal for them to get back into the game.
Though the scoreline might not reflect it, Koln were very much in the game for the first 50 minutes, and gave the Bayern defence cause for concern on occasion, but all of their hopes were dashed when right-back Kinglsey Ehizibue was shown a straight red card for bundling Philippe Coutinho over in the penalty box, with referee Patrick Itrrich pointing to the spot.
The double punishment saw Bayern Munich go 3-0 up after Coutinho scored the spot-kick at the second time of asking, while also giving the hosts a one-man advantage over Koln.
This was effectively game over for the visitors, but things might have turned out differently if Ehizibue had not been sent in for an early shower.
#1 Overall, they were the better side
Bayern Munich are by far the biggest side in Germany, and have won almost half of the total Bundesliga titles ever contested.
They are on an unprecedented run of having won each of the last seven titles consecutively, and winning the league title for them is the norm rather than the exception.
They also possess more quality players than the rest of the league, with the current squad boasting multiple world-class players who are among the best in their respective positions on the planet.
In the game against Koln, this difference in quality came to the fore, and despite Koln's best efforts, their hosts were simply too good for them.
They bossed their visitors in every department, controlling 61% of the possession, while they also had 25 shots in the game to Koln's 14, with five of those being on target as against the two managed by Achim Beierlorzer's men. Furthermore, they made 554 passes to the 357 Koln attempted, with a pass completion rate of 86% as against 78%.
Generally, bigger and better teams with more quality players tend to win their less illustrious opponents, and seeing as the Bayern Munich players brought their A-game to the fore in the clash, it was always going to be difficult for Koln to escape the Allianz Arena unscathed.
