Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac hailed his side’s best Bundesliga performance of the season after they eased past Borussia Monchengladbach 5-1 to move level on points with leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Javi Martinez headed Bayern into the lead after just 66 seconds, with Thomas Muller putting the visitors 2-0 up inside the opening 11 minutes.
Home captain Lars Stindl pulled one back before the Bavarians took full control with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry.
Polish striker Lewandowski added a late penalty to wrap things up and move onto 195 goals in the Bundesliga – more than any other foreign player in history.
Bayern have won their last four league matches and now sit behind Dortmund only on goal difference.
“That was the best we have played in the Bundesliga this season,” Kovac said at a post-match press conference.
“I’m very happy with the game and the way we played, but we could have scored one or two more goals.
“Now everything is open again. The title does not become a matter of fact, because we still have some heavy games ahead of us, but we are motivated enough to achieve that.
“The team are doing really well, we have a good atmosphere and the team have desire.”
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer maintains the players will remain focused, with key games ahead including a home showdown with Dortmund in April.
“We are not first yet, but much is possible this season,” he said.
“We have to stay calm and do our best to be champions so we can become champions.”
Monchengladbach coach Dieter Hecking admitted his side had given themselves an uphill battle after not being able to cope with Bayern’s fast start.
“If you are behind Bayern after two minutes, it will be difficult,” he said.
“We wanted to get control of the game back after that, and of course had to take a little more risk.
“However, these mistakes which we made cannot be explained. It was a deserved defeat.”
