Lethal Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski scored twice on Saturday to become the highest-scoring foreigner in a season. The record was previously held by former Borussia striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who moved to Arsenal in the English Premier League.
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Lewandowski’s brace against Freiburg took his tally to 33 in 30 league appearances, and 48 in all competitions. Aubameyang scored 31 league goals in his final season at Borussia Dortmund in 2016/17, becoming the first foreigner to hit the figure in a Bundesliga season.
The Bundesliga season ends this Saturday, but the Polish frontman already falls short of the long-standing record held by the legendary Gerd Mueller. The Germany striker scored 40 goals in the 1971/72 season, a record that is yet to be equaled five decades later.
Bayern were confirmed the Bundesliga champions for the eighth consecutive season and are right on course for an elusive treble. They face Bayer Leverkusen on July 4 in the German Cup final and are considered hot favorites for the European Champions League set to resume in August after a 5-month break occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. Unsurprisingly, Lewandowski is the top scorer in UCL with 11 goals in six matches. Despite the long break, German players had maintained fitness courtesy of virtual fitness sessions.
The German heavyweights crushed Chelsea 3-0 in the first leg of the last 16 in London to take a commanding lead heading into the second leg initially scheduled for March.
Lewandowski favorite for the European Golden Shoe
Other European leagues still have a long way to go, with the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, and the Spanish La Liga restarting weeks behind the German Bundesliga. As it stands, Robert Lewandowski has surged ahead of Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner, and Dortmund’s wonder kid Erling Haaland.
With 33 Bundesliga goals, Lewandowski tops with 66 points, Ciro Immobile follows with 27 Serie A goals, which amounts to 54 points. Timo Werner, with one match to go, is third with 26 goals and 52 points, two ahead of Erling Haaland, who by contrast has scored 29 league goals, but a chunk of those goals came at RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. His 16 strikes for Salzburg are counted at 1.5 points each, while his goals at Dortmund account for 2 points each.
Lewandowski will hope to stretch that lead in Bayern’s final league match on Saturday against Europa League hopefuls Wolfsburg. Ciro Immobile, on the other hand, will look to better his tally in 12 Lazio’s 12 remaining fixtures.
It is the first time in 4 years that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are missing out of the top 3 in the European Golden Shoe running. Messi’s start in the Spanish La Liga was marred by injuries, but he has hit the ground running, scoring 21 league goals to take the driving seat in the race for the Pichichi award.
Cristiano Ronaldo did not have the best first season with Juventus in the Italian Serie A, but he has improved significantly in the 2019/20 season, scoring 22 goals after 27 matches for the Italian champions.
