How has Niko Kovac turned Bayern Munich’s season around?

After chasing Borussia Dortmund for several months, Bayern Munich are now top of the table again - how has Niko Kovac managed it?

The record German titleholders returned to the Bundesliga summit for the first time since Matchday 5 after hitting Wolfsburg for six - the latest in a run of 12 wins from a possible 13.

“We’re now where we want to be - at the top of the table - and that’s where we want to stay,” said Kovac on Saturday. “But nothing is set in stone yet.” While challengers Dortmund have suffered an untimely form dip, Kovac’s charges are proving too hot to handle.

“We have achieved a lot of momentum at the right time of the season,” said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. “We've scored 11 goals in the last two games and put in compact defensive performances.”

With every passing game, Bayern are forging a sharper identity under Kovac the and they've had to survive a few fiery situations to get there.

A patch of poor form, big-name injuries and shock results led to suggestions of a “crisis”, but the 47-year-old's calm demeanour never wavered. Ultimately, it was a Klassiker defeat to Dortmund and Dodi Lukebakio’s jaw-dropping performance in Munich on Matchday 12 that proved the turning points.

Back in the more familiar role of table toppers, Bayern have rediscovered the killer instinct that was, at times, lacking in the first half of the season and now boast the league’s most prolific attack with 62 goals to their name.

A gritty and energetic pressing game lays the foundation for a more explosive approach in the final third, as evidenced in the wins over Borussia Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg.

Bayern carved out 41 goal scoring chances over the course of those two games, 28 of which, at the very least, drew a save out of the opposing keeper.

Six goals weren’t enough to satisfy Kovac against the Wolves though. “We could have and should have scored more,” said the Croatian. “But that was a good way to follow up from the Gladbach game.”

Up until Matchday 12, Bayern were scoring at a clip of under two goals a game, but have averaged three per match in the 13 outings that have followed. Not as a result of an increase in the quantity of chances, but rather because of improved finishing.

Bayern's shots-per-game ratio has remained virtually unchanged since the start of the season, but between Matchday 13 and 25, they’ve needed an average of six shots per goal, compared to the nine efforts required in the opening 12 games of the season.

With his charges getting increasingly comfortable with his approach, Kovac is deploying a more dynamic and less risk-averse strategy to get the most out of the enviable talent pool he has at his disposal.

With Javi Martinez providing the anchor, Thiago, James Rodriguez and Serge Gnabry have proven a potent concoction capable of breaking lines with their work both on and off the ball. As a result, Bayern have carved out, on average, double the amount of clear-cut chances per game since Matchday 13.

Robert Lewandowski has been the main beneficiary, bagging back-to-back braces to become the most prolific non-German in Bundesliga history, moving two clear of former teammate Claudio Pizarro.

However, boiling it down to individual quality alone would be an injustice. Bayern are currently benefiting from a more cohesive approach that is reminiscent of Kovac’s Eintracht Frankfurt side, admittedly with a larger sprinkling of star power. Not that the Croation has shied away from the task at hand.

“Of course I try and motivate the players verbally before each game,” Kovac told Bild. “But at this level, when you’re playing every three days, it eventually sucks it out of you. As a coach, you can’t just wave your magic wand and motivate them. The bottom line is it has to come from the players themselves.”

Chasing a seventh straight Bundesliga title in the fiercest battle for silverware of their reign, Kovac will rightly take his share of plaudits for Bayern’s upswing in form. And it could not have come at a better time, with their potentially decisive clash with Dortmund looming on 6 April.