Robben and Ribery race past FC Köln in a 4-1 win

Bayern celebrated their 115th anniversary with a 4-1 win over FC Koln. Koln came into this match as the Bundesliga's second best road team, while Bayern had just come off an amazing stretch which saw them net 14 goals in their last two league games.

A blitzkrieg from Bayern early on led to three consecutive corners the last of which yielded a spectacular headed goal from Bastian Schweinsteiger. The all out assault didn't stop there. David Alaba, back at left back, frequently came bombing down the pitch creating nice interplay with Franck Ribery and Mario Götze. The trio kept Koln's defense on it's toes until Ribery eventually broke them down as he pulled a "Reverse Robben", taking the ball down the left and cutting to his right before burying it near post to double Bayern's lead.

Koln withstood the initial attacks until they could figure out how to mount an effective counter. Anthony Ujah seemed content to lie in wait for the rare opportunity to take it the other way. Just before the end of the half, it paid off. With no stoppage time given and the clock at 45', Ujah headed home a cross with about three Bayern defenders around him, none of whom contested it.

The momentum created from Ujah's goal carried over in the second half as Koln subbed on Marcel Risse, the 25 year old attacking mid to go for the equalizer. Shortly after the re-start, Koln had their best opportunity to nab said equalizer as Ujah and Risse both registered dangerous shots on goal forcing Neuer to make diving saves only seconds apart. Neuer wasn't tested until that point, so for him to be able to keep his focus in such a way was very impressive.

Bayern seemed to wake up after that little scare. Arjen Robben, after gaffing pretty bad on a one-on-one breakaway with keeper Timo Horn, redeemed himself in a big way, heading home a beautiful cross from Ribery. Having a healthy and fit Robbery is sure to strike fear in the hearts of Bayern's future opponents as it looks as if the famed duo is back in form.

While Koln withstood the early all out assault that would have dashed the spirits of a lesser team after the third goal went in they ran out of gas. Timo Horn kept this one from becoming a laugher early on as it easily could have been 4-0 after 15 minutes. Koln was weak on the wings, which happens to be, arguably, Bayern's biggest strength and had no answer for Ribery and Alaba who seemed to own a time share on the left side of the final third.

Robert Lewandowski, who had earlier seen two quality shots on target get parried away by Timo Horn was looking desperate to put one on the net and Ribery would oblige him for the game's final goal. On a fantastic counterattack, Ribery drove down the left side, fed the overlapping Robben whose quick cross pinged off Lewandowski's chest and into the back of the net.

For Bayern, this was a very strong team win. They had four different players score goals, managed 75% possession, and garnered a whopping 14 corners and 23 shots, 9 of which were on target. All in all, a very encouraging win for Pep Guardiola as they now get a few days of rest before their Pokal match against Eintracht Braunschweig.