Saturday, May 22, 2021

Robert Lewandowski has done it!


In November 2013, Lewandowski confirmed he would sign a pre-contractual agreement for Borussia Dortmund's rivals Bayern Munich, which officially happened on 3 January 2014. He signed a five-year contract, joining the team at the start of the 2014–15 season.

Lewandowski was officially presented as a Bayern Munich player in July 2014.

In the preseason in July 2014, he scored and opened the scoring as Bayern contested the 2014 MLS All-Star Game in Portland, Oregon, eventually losing 1–2.

He made his competitive debut for his new club in a 0–2 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the 2014 DFL-Supercup and scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw against Schalke 04 in his second league match.

The 2014-14 season ended with 25 goals from 49 matches and the following season he scored his 30th goal of the 2015-16 season in Bayern's final league match of the season at home to Hannover 96.

This made him the first foreign player to score 30 goals in the Bundesliga, the first player since Dieter Muller in 1976–77 and secured him the Torjagerkanone for the second time in three seasons.

He finished the season with 42 goals in 51 matches.

On March 11, 2017, Lewandowski reached 100 goals for Bayern in his 137th appearance for the club, scoring twice in a 3–0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.

He finished the season with 42 goals in 47 matches.

Lewandowski finished the 2017-18 season as the Bundesliga's top goalscorer with 29 goals. This was the third time Lewandowski won Bundesliga's top goalscorer award.

He finished the season with 41 goals in 48 matches in all competitions.

In the 2018-19 season, Lewandowski bagged 40 goals in 47 matches in all competitions, reaching the 40-goal landmark for the fourth consecutive season, also winning his second domestic double with Bayern Munich.

In the 2019-20 season Lewandowski and Bayern Munich were at the height of their powers. After a poor start to the season and struggling midway through, Hansi Flick transformed Bayern into a beast that crushed every opponent they faced, and the 8-2 shaming of Barcelona at Lisbon was one of the most memorable ones.

He scored 14 consecutive Champions League goals in that season made it 15 in the semifinal against Olympic Lyon.

He failed to score in the finals but Bayern won the Champions League by beating Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

It was his first Champions League title in his career and also became the second player ever to win the European treble while being the top scorer in all three competitions, repeating Johan Cruyff's achievement with Ajax from 1971–72 season. However, Lewandowski was the first to do so as the sole top scorer in all three competitions.

He found the target in nine successive Bundesliga games between December 12, 2020, and January 30, 2021.  

In January 2021, Lewandowski became the first player in Bundesliga history to score 21 goals after just 16 games – a new Hinrunde record, beating Gerd Müller's 20 goals during the 1968–69 season.

February 2021, Lewandowski opened the score in a 4–1 win against Lazio in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, reaching his 72nd Champions League goal and surpassing Raúl as the third-highest goalscorer in the competition's history.

In March, he scored his 12th Bundesliga hat-trick in a victory over Borussia Dortmund, to reach 31 goals in 23 matches.

 One week later, he scored a goal in a 3–1 away win over Werder Bremen, hence he became the joint-second on the all-time Bundesliga scoring list with 268 goals along with Klaus Fischer.

And, again, after one week, he surpassed Klaus Fischer, as he scored a perfect hat-trick in the first half of a 4–0 win over VfB Stuttgart.

On 28 March, he was injured in his right knee during a World Cup qualification match against Andorra; hence, he missed both Champions League quarter-final matches against Paris Saint-Germain, in which Bayern Munich lost on away goals rule after a 3–3 draw on aggregate.

But in the Bundesliga, he was scoring goals consistently and was nearing a record.

Bayern took to the field against Augsburg with a ninth successive title triumph wrapped up, meaning that they could relax and express themselves.

The only surprise was that it took so long for Lewandowski to make his historic contribution.

His big moment arrived in the 90th minute, with a typically composed finish seeing him re-write the history books.

Bayern were already 4-2 in front by that stage, with outgoing coach Hansi Flick getting the perfect send-off.

Lewandowski's strike, his 48th of the season in all competitions, saw him edge above the mark set by Bayern legend Gerd Muller back in 1971-72.

Another record for the legend and richly deserved.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 22/05/2021 Robert Lewandowski has done it!

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

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