Dario Lezcano may have opened the scoring for FC Ingolstadt 04, but Bayern Munich responded with three unanswered goals to secure a 3-1 victory.
Lezcano sparks Lewandowski into life
The game began, unsurprisingly, with Bayern on top; but there would be a sting in the tail. A rapid break from Mathew Leckie down the left saw the forward feed Lezcano who had marched unmarked on goal, and his toe-poked finish went under the oncoming Manuel Neuer to shock the Allianz Arena faithful into near silence.
That didn't last long, though, as Ingolstadt gave up a very quick and sloppy equaliser. Roger lost the ball after getting mixed up with Leckie in the middle, and the hosts pounced quickly to find Franck Ribéry. He played a superb through ball into Robert Lewandowski, who produced a sublime chipped finish to level the scores in some style.
Bayern continued to press on the back of the momentum swing, but found it hard to eek out chances against a deep Ingolstadt back-line. Several last ditch challenges were made, notably from Marvin Matip and Roger but Ørjan Nyland remained largely untested in the visiting goal; any shots were off target.
Instead it was Ingolstadt who forced Neuer into some late action in the first period. Leckie again brought a solid save from the Bayern stopper, but neither he or his team-mates could force a way past Germany's number one as they went into the break level pegging.
Bayern bite back for all three points
The second half began just like the first, as both teams continued to throw caution to the wind. But contrary to the opening period it was Bayern who struck first with a Xabi Alonso piledriver. The Spaniard picked up a Ribéry lay-odd, after a one-two between the Frenchman and Juan Bernat, before rifling into the far corner from 25 yards.
Now behind for the first time, Ingolstadt had to set about finding a way back into the game and they had more than ample opportunity to do so. Leckie, their main man on the day, managed to wriggle his way through on the Bayern goal by beating several home defenders before his shot was magnificently denied by a strong left hand from Neuer.
Ingolstadt continued to push Bayern and were unfortunate not to grab the equaliser, but for some poor finishing. Superb play on the edge of the area saw Lezcano and Groß pass their way past the home defence before sliding in Lukas Hinterseer. The Austrian forward couldn't find his finish, and so had the one guilt-edge chance.
The Schanzer were made to pay for their missed chances, as Bayern sealed all three points late on. A quick break and a stunning strike from Rafinha saw the Brazilian rifle home from distance to leave Nyland grasping at thin air and ensure the hosts would return to the top of the Bundesliga pile.