"He's the best striker in the world!" Whether coach Hansi Flick or teammates Jérôme Boateng and Kingsley Coman, everyone who's followed Robert Lewandowski over the past year will agree that no other striker came close to the Pole's performance in 2020. fcbayern.com have put together the facts to support this judgment.
Nobody scored as often as Lewandowski
Lewandowski has scored 40 competitive goals in the 2020 calendar year alone - and in just 36 appearances. No player in Europe's top leagues has scored as many times as LewanGOALski.
Consistently successful for years
The exceptional Polish striker has broken the 40-goal mark in all competitions for the fourth year in a row. No other player in Europe's five major leagues can match that. In the past decade, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have managed to score 40 or more goals in a year more often (eight times each).
Victory guaranteed
Lewandowski's goals have not just been numerous, they have been important as well. He has scored in 27 of his 36 competitive appearances in 2020 - all of which FC Bayern won.
Averaging over a goal per game
The 32-year-old is one of five players in Europe's top five leagues (min. 10 appearances) who have averaged more than a goal per 90 minutes in all competitions. Lewandowski's rate works out at one scored every 79 minutes in 2020, only bettered by Dortmund's Erling Haaland (73 min/goal).
Double (or more) is better
Europe's Footballer of the Year has managed to score more than one goal in a game 10 times in the 2020 calendar year - only matched by Dortmund's Haaland. In addition, Lewandowski is one of only seven players in the major European leagues to score four in a game during this year.
Among the Champions League greats
Lewandowski has scored eight goals in nine appearances in the Champions League in 2020, building on his legendary status in Europe's premier club competition. He netted the 71st Champions League goal of his career in the 3-1 win over Red Bull Salzburg, drawing him level with Raul in third place on the competition's all-time goalscorer list.
In a class of his own in the Bundesliga
Lewandowski won the Bundesliga Torjägerkanone for the fifth time in his career in the summer and is already leading the race again in the new season with 12 goals after nine matchdays. He has narrowly fallen short of the record he himself set last season (13 at this point), but has still scored more goals than a third of teams in the Bundesliga. Six clubs have fewer than a dozen goals so far this season.
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