The defending Bundesliga champions travelled to Lower Saxony to face Hannover 96, but had a stern test on their hands from the referee's first whistle on Saturday afternoon. Arjen Robben looked to wreck havoc amongst the opposing defenders within minutes, but was efficiently shut out with many markers closing him down effectively whenever he got a touch of the ball on the flank; showing the hosts had done their homework before kick-off.
The game was in need of a spark, and creative midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake delivered that at just the right time after 25 minutes on the clock, with a neat finish past Manuel Neuer after some rather questionable defending by Dante in the final third. It was his fourth goal of the season, and Bayern were shocked to have gone behind, but you could tell it was coming as Dante defensively was poor throughout, looking very nervous on the ball and even more so as Hannover went on the counter attack; only to be saved by team-mate and fellow centre-back Holger Badstuber with a vital challenge in the early going.
Pep Guardiola's men responded almost instantaneously though, with Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso equalising just three minutes after Kiyotake's opener with a well-taken free-kick which had goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler rooted to the spot as he watched the ball float into the bottom corner of his net.
Dante was replaced after the half-hour mark by Polish forward Robert Lewandowski in a more attacking change, and it was clear that Bayern needed to go for the victory in a match everyone had expected them to win. Despite a few half-chances, the scoreline stayed the same at the half-time interval, at 1-1.
In the second-half, not much happened of real note up until the 58th minute, where the referee awarded the visitors a penalty after a headed pass from substitute Franck Ribery (who came on in place of Mario Götze in the 53rd minute) fell towards Lewandowski, who attempted to head home from close range, but was denied by a flailing kick to the head by Hannover centre-back Marcelo who got nowhere near the ball. Thomas Muller stood up to the plate whilst Lewandowski was receiving treatment from the physios, and slotted the ball powerful beyond Zieler into the bottom corner, to give Guardiola's side a 2-1 lead.
Then, just minutes later, another penalty decision occured, but this time, referee Tobias Welz waved play on as Leonardo Bittencourt was bundled to the ground inside the penalty area by Jerome Boateng.
The three points were all but sealed for Bayern in the 70th minute, when Muller completed his brace with a tidy headed finish past Zieler, who was only able to get fingertips on the header inside the area after a well-driven cross towards the German forward by Ribery, who was credited with the assist.
The visitors passed their way to safety in the closing stages of the game, looking comfortable in possession and not giving the ball away needlessly as they held out for a 3-1 victory, in a game where they were not tested to the maximum of their capabilities after their equaliser in all honesty. Kiyotake was a constant threat especially after his opener, but they made sure he did not see much of the ball in the final stages to close out the win.