Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti was delighted with how his side started out in their 3-0 win over nearest tile rivals Red Bull Leipzig at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.
Bayern had the game sewn up before half-time with two simple finishes - after excellent build-up play-from Thiagoand Xabi Alonso and a converted penalty from Robert Lewandowski.
The win sees the defending champions go three points clear of the Bulls into the winter break - something that may be imperative come the end of the season.
And after the gameboss Ancelotti certainly recognised the importance andhis side's dominance over the second best team in Germany this season.
"The first 30 minutes were perfect in terms of our pace and build-up play", he said.
"We were very aggressive and controlled the match from the off.
"Things went well for us after the opener.The victory boosts our confidence. We've had to improve, and we've improved."
Bayern right-back Philipp Lahm had been very vocal in the build up to the top of the table clash about how important the victory would be over Leipzig in the Bavarian's hunt for another league title.
"The whole German footballing family were looking forward to this match", said the33-year-old German.
"It was a duel between two teams who wanted to assert themselves.We'd wanted to lay down a marker, and we achieved it in the first half in particular."
For the visiting Bulls it will be a night to forget after they did not really give themselves a chance to be in the game.Their lacklustre performance may have been different if they had kept all 11 men on the field, and, if they had converted their best chance of the game very early on.
ButcoachRalph Hasenhuttl had nothing but praise for thedominantopposition after his side'sdemolishing.
"Congratulations to Carlo and his great team", said the Bulls boss."They signalled their intent from the off today.We had no chance in the first half.
"It probably would have been difficult even if we had turned in our best performance.We didn't defend to the best of our ability, so it was a lesson for us."
The result means that Bayern edge ahead of their nearest title rivals over the winter break and even further improve their sublime goal difference.
With four weeks to recover for Leipzig, the result may have come at the right time in order to not hurt their season too much.