A dominant Bayern Munich kept pace with the Bundesliga front runners after coming from behind to inflict a heavy defeat on bottom-placed Energie Cottbus.
Ervin Skela put the visitors ahead against the run of play in the 25th minute, but it was all down hill from their for Cottbus as Franck Ribery, Martin Demichelis, Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni all found the net.
With promoted Hoffenheim winning their game with Cologne 3-1, Munich remain three points off the top, but have now drawn level with second-placed Bayer Leverkusen after they lost to Arminia Bielefeld.
That result also means Cottbus are left a point adrift at the bottom of the standings, but the lowly visitors still managed to silence the Allianz Arena, if only for four minutes.
Bayern started by far the brighter, and had no fewer than five chances to take the lead in the opening 25 minutes, the best of which coming just three minutes in when Klose hit the post.
So it was unsurprising that when Skela lined up a free-kick out wide on the left wing nobody expected him to open the scoring with a sublime shot which sailed into the far corner of the net.
Bayern were level before the half-hour mark through a free-kick of their own, however.
Ribery, who was a doubt for the game after injuring his ankle with France in mid-week, fired home from the edge of the box.
Once level again Bayern made sure they learned from their mistakes, and Cottbus never looked like scoring again.
The hosts went ahead before the break when Demichelis headed in a Massimo Oddo cross from close range with seven minutes left of the half.
Then in the second half Bayern sealed the result in a five-minute spell prior to the hour mark.
Ribery set up Klose to head in the third with 54 minutes played, then Toni added a fourth five minutes later after he arrived unmarked to cannon an Oddo cross from a corner in off the crossbar.
Cottbus goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel kept the scoreline down in the final half an hour, with two saves first from Ribery and then Toni.
