It looks like business as usual for Robert Lewandowski, the prolific goalscorer who plays for Bayern Munich and Poland. At 33-years of age, he shows no sign of slowing down.
After seven games in the Bundesliga, the Polish goal poacher is the top scorer again, with seven goals to his credit. However, he is not alone. The joint top scorer is Erling Braut Haaland, the 21-year-old striker from Norway who plays for Borrusia Dortmund and the Norwegian international team.
Last season, Lewandowski scored an amazing 41 goals in the Bundesliga. His achievement saw him break Gerd Muller’s record of 40 goals in one Bundesliga season, a record which has stood since the 1971/1972 season. The Pole managed to claim the new record when Bayern Munich beat Augsburg. It was a last-minute goal, scored in the 90th minute in a game which saw Bayern emerge 5-2 winners.
When Sportingbet published their “Deadliest Striker in Europe” table, the top scorer was Lionel Messi, another great marksman who, at the time, played his football at Barcelona in La Liga. The protracted enmity between him and the Spanish football giants in the last few weeks saw Messi move to Paris Saint Germain.
But that table is now one year out of date. It doesn’t take into account the season just gone – the 2020/2021 season.
This last season saw Lewandowski notch up his record-breaking 41 goals. Messi could only manage 30 goals, in itself no mean feat. But the 11 goal superiority of the Pole draws him level with the Argentinian, and so far this season, with Messi only managing to score one goal for PSG, and that was in the Champions League, it puts Lewandowski out in front by six clear goals and the league season has only just begun.
Messi’s one goal saw him maintain a record of his own. He has scored seven goals in total against Manchester City in as many games. It seems there is still a link between him and City’s manager, Pep Guardiola. All seven goals have come while Guardiola was at the helm.
It is perhaps fitting that it was at Camp Nou, under Pep Guardiola’s management, that Messi developed into the world-class player he is today. We suspect, though, that the Spaniard would, rather Messi had not proved his point by grabbing the winner against his side. But that is football.
Back on the deadliest striker in Europe stakes, it looks as though Bayern’s Lewandowski is the new crown champion and will remain so for a while. Eventually, Haaland might overtake him. All things are possible, and at 21 years of age, he does have time on his side.