After back-to-back league defeats, Bayern leapt from sixth to third in the Bundesliga, four points behind Borussia Dortmund who routed Stuttgart 4-0 with Paco Alcácer claiming his seventh goal in four Bundesliga games.
Bayern got back to winning ways in Wolfsburg the day after chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and president Uli Hoeneß slammed the media in Germany for “disrespectful and disgusting” reporting on star-studded Munich.
Bayern played the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Arjen Robben was sent off after receiving two yellow cards.
“There was a lot of pressure on this game and I want to thank the boys for a top performance,” said Bayern head coach Niko Kovač.
“It was a very concentrated display. It is the first step and showed that FC Bayern can fight back.”
Lewandowski gave Bayern an early lead when he tucked away Thiago Alcântara’s dummied pass past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
It was the Poland striker’s first goal after drawing blanks in his last five games for club and country.
With halftime approaching, Robben earned his first booking for a dive in the area before Lewandowski struck again just after the break.
The Polish striker latched on to William’s misplaced backpass and dribbled around Casteels to poke his shot into an empty net to make it 2-0.
There were nervous looks in the Bayern ranks on 57 minutes when Robben was dismissed after a foul on midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj.
Wolfsburg pulled a goal back five minutes after Robben’s dismissal when Dutch striker Wout Weghorst buried the hosts’ first clear chance.
James Rodríguez calmed any nerves in the Bayern ranks with a stunning shot inside the post 18 minutes from time.
In Stuttgart, Dortmund remained three points clear after their attack of Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus, and Alcácer ran riot, with the trio all claiming first-half goals.
Before kick-off, Dortmund’s sports director Michael Zorc revealed Borussia are set to make Alcácer’s loan stay from Barcelona permanent.
The Spaniard demonstrated why with his 11th goal this season for Dortmund and Spain to become the league’s joint top-scorer.
Fresh from making his senior England debut, Sancho, 18, put Dortmund ahead on just three minutes when he fired home after Reus’ shot was deflected into his path.
Reus then made no mistake with his second chance for his fifth league goal of the season.
Alcácer made it 3-0 after 25 minutes when his sublime chip beat the Stuttgart goalkeeper.
The hosts tightened their defence after the break, but Dortmund deserved the win as Maximilian Philipp slammed home their fourth six minutes from time.
“That was a big start from us, coming back from the international break,” said Sancho.
“We came out sharp and I was happy to be able to get the first goal.”
Werder Bremen later went second in the table, knocking Bayern down to third, after midfielder Maximilian Eggestein scored either side of half-time in their 2-0 win at Schalke.
Elsewhere, England junior international Reiss Nelson, on loan from Arsenal, scored twice as Hoffenheim warmed up for their Champions League game at home to Lyon with a 3-1 win at Nürnberg.
RB Leipzig are fourth after a goalless draw with Augsburg cost them a fourth straight win.
Brazil defender Felipe was Hannover’s hero, then villain after scoring their second goal, but was then sent off in their 2-2 goal at Bayer Leverkusen, for whom Karim Bellarabi scored a late equaliser.