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Could Robert Lewandowski
break Ronaldo's record? |
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His name may not be
spoken as much as the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and even Neymar,
but for the last decade, Robert Lewandowski has torn up the Bundesliga. His
record domestically speaks for itself: eight Bundesliga titles (six with Bayern
Munich and two with former club, Borussia Dortmund), four DFB-Pokals and four
DFB-Supercups. The only accolade to evade him so far is the Champions League
the closest he came was in the 2012-13 season when Dortmund reached the
Final, but agonisingly lost to Bayern 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.
This
seasons
Champions
League odds currently pits Bayern as second-favourites to lift the trophy,
behind Manchester City and the Germans face Barcelona in the
quarter-finals later this week, while City play Lyon. But its the German
clubs star man who features top of the competitions goalscorers
list. Lewandowski has scored 13 goals this campaign, which equates to one every
47 minutes a solid record.
His most recent goals came in the
Round of 16, when Bayern ran out 7-1 aggregate winners over Chelsea, and the
Polish International scored a brace as the Bundesliga champions were 4-1
winners in the second leg, to cement their place in the final eight.
Lewandowski sits fourth in the all-time list of Champions League top scorers,
with 66. Raúl (71), Messi (115) and Cristiano Ronaldo (130) make up the
top three.
While hes a long way off securing that achievement,
its a record belonging to the Portugal and Juventus man that Lewandowski
could surpass. During the 2013-14 Champions League campaign, Ronaldo scored 17
goals the most in a single season. Its a record he has come close
to beating on two occasions, but no one else has got a look in.
Bayern
are just two games away from the final in Lisbon, but with the remaining
knockout fixtures decided over 90 minutes (plus extra time, if required) rather
than the standard two-legs, the Pole is still four goals away from levelling
with the record with time running out. But Lewandowski said he
wasnt focusing on the tally: "It's not a goal of mine.
We have a few more games in the knockout round and I am just as happy creating
goals as scoring them."
His tally this season in Europes elite cup
competition includes braces against Tottenham Hotspur and Olympiakos
both during away fixtures. In fact, on the road has proved a happy hunting
ground for Lewandowski, who also notched four goals in a record 15 minutes
against Red Star Belgrade, also in the group stages. But his most recent brace
came at the Allianz Arena.
And despite an extended season, blighted by
managerial changes, there remained two constants Bayerns dominance
and the goalscoring prowess of Lewandowski. Even if he doesnt break
Ronaldos record of six years ago, hes already made history this
campaign. His performance in the Round of 16 saw him become the first player to
register more than three goals and assists against an opponent in a single
Champions League season scoring three goals, with four assists over two
legs against Chelsea.
Theres little doubt that the Bayern goal
machine is in the form of his life, and whether or not he continues to break
records, Lewandowski is one of the best strikers of the last 10 years. Will he
add the Champions League to his long list of honours? |
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