Bayern Munich attacker Robert Lewandowski wants to break Gerd Muller’s record after taking another giant step towards history on Saturday.
Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition of Borussia Monchengladbach as Bayern celebrated a ninth successive Bundesliga title. The Poland internationl took his league tally to 39 for the season, moving him to within one of Muller’s all-time Bundesliga single-season record of 40, set in 1971-72.
“I have the chance to break this record,” Lewandowski, who claimed his 249th Bundesliga victory – surpassing Claudio Pizarro as the foreign player with the most wins in the league, said. “It won’t be easy, for sure. Ok, we have two games but if I want to break it, I have to score two goals.
“I have to work hard in the next game because I know it won’t be easy. But to break the record would be something amazing for me as well because if you have 34 games – even less in my situation this season – it will be something.
“I have to believe it can happen. I have the chance. I have to be ready for this.”
Bayern were crowned Bundesliga champions before kicking a ball thanks to Borussia Dortmund’s dramatic win over RB Leipzig.
Hansi Flick’s Bayern proceeded to put on a worthy celebration against Gladbach, humbling the visitors at Allianz Arena to maintain their stranglehold on the Bundesliga – equalling the record in Europe’s top-five divisions (Juventus) with their ninth straight league crown.
Bayern won their 30th Bundesliga title (31-time German champions overall). Indeed, 52 per cent of the 58 trophies since the Bundesliga was founded in 1963 have gone to the Bavarian powerhouse.
For Bayern, it is their 16th title this millennium. Dortmund, Gladbach (five each) and Werder Bremen (four) have a combined total of 14 championships since the league was founded.
“We knew one hour before the game for sure that we were already champions,” added Lewandowski, who has now scored 201 Bundesliga goals for Bayern – after Muller (365 for Bayern), he is only the second player in league history to net 200-plus goals for a single team.
“But for us, it was more important to show on the pitch why we are champions and to show the best football. What we did during the game was spectacular, it was amazing because we scored so many goals. We showed that we are the best this season.”
Story by Sammy Wejinya
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